Department
English & Humanities
Brief Biography
James Pearce has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned both his bachelors and masters in Philosophy from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. James specializes in Philosophy, Epistemology, and the Philosophy of Language. He has earned awards for Excellence in Teaching and Advisor of the Year. James is now an adjunct professor at Shawnee State and he resides in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Presentation Location
University Center East Ballroom
Presentation Start Date and Time
21-2-2019 1:00 PM
Presentation End Date and Time
21-2-2019 2:00 PM
Brief Abstract
Epistemology is that part of philosophy which studies knowledge, and tries to answer questions like: What is knowledge? How do we acquire knowledge? How do we know that we do in fact possess knowledge, i.e., how do we know that we know? The longest-standing formulation of the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge known to me (pre-dating Plato) is called the Justified True Belief [JTB] theory of knowledge. Gettier’s argument – if it goes through – is a relatively knock-down refutation of the JTB theory of knowledge. Since Gettier’s article was published in 1963, epistemologists have been scrambling either to “fix” JTB so that it avoids Gettier’s problem, to retreat into skepticism, or to erect brand new, Gettier-proof theories from scratch. My paper attempts to argue the first approach, that JTB can be fixed.
Presentation Length
45-50 min.
Recommended Citation
Pearce, James, "How to Solve the Gettier Problem" (2019). Faculty Research and Teaching Expo. 3.
https://digitalcommons.shawnee.edu/ffa/Faculty_Presentations_2019/February_19_2019/3
Included in
How to Solve the Gettier Problem
University Center East Ballroom
Epistemology is that part of philosophy which studies knowledge, and tries to answer questions like: What is knowledge? How do we acquire knowledge? How do we know that we do in fact possess knowledge, i.e., how do we know that we know? The longest-standing formulation of the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge known to me (pre-dating Plato) is called the Justified True Belief [JTB] theory of knowledge. Gettier’s argument – if it goes through – is a relatively knock-down refutation of the JTB theory of knowledge. Since Gettier’s article was published in 1963, epistemologists have been scrambling either to “fix” JTB so that it avoids Gettier’s problem, to retreat into skepticism, or to erect brand new, Gettier-proof theories from scratch. My paper attempts to argue the first approach, that JTB can be fixed.