Epistemology: Is the Gettier Problem a problem?

A woman glances at a broken clock and comes to believe it is a quarter past seven Yet, despite the broken clock, it really does happen to be a quarter past seven. Her belief is true, but it isn't knowledge.

A person can have a belief that is justified and true, yet still seem not to possess genuine knowledge because the truth of the belief depends on luck.

For a long time, many philosophers accepted the idea that knowledge is:

• Belief — you believe something.
• Truth — the thing is actually true.
• Justification — you have good reasons for believing it.

This is called the “Justified True Belief” (JTB) theory of knowledge.

The philosopher Edmund Gettier challenged this definition in a short 1963 paper by showing situations where someone has a justified true belief but still seems not to have genuine knowledge.

Is the Gettier problem really a problem? Join us for this discussion about fake barns, impossible navigators, and what it means to really know something. All are welcome and no background or reading is required!