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The Traditional Account of Knowledge

  • Kevin McCain
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Part of the Springer Undergraduate Texts in Philosophy book series (SUTP)

Abstract

This chapter introduces the traditional account of knowledge. First, three main kinds of knowledge are distinguished: acquaintance knowledge, knowledge-how, and propositional knowledge. The nature of each of these kinds of knowledge and their differences from one another are illuminated. It is also made clear that scientific knowledge is best understood as a particular variety of propositional knowledge. After clarifying the differences between these kinds of knowledge the chapter turns to a brief examination of the traditional account of propositional knowledge. This traditional account holds that in order for one to have knowledge of a particular proposition three conditions must be satisfied: the proposition must be true, one must believe the proposition, and one must have justification for believing the proposition. The discussion of the traditional account of knowledge in this chapter sets the stage for the more in-depth examination of the general features of knowledge that is the focus of the remaining chapters in this section of the book.

Keywords

Traditional Account Propositional Knowledge Conversational Knowledge Briefly Examine Winning Numbers 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kevin McCain
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of PhilosophyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUSA

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