Plato\'s Theaetetus and Gettier\'s \"Is Justified True Belief Knowledge\" Questions PDF

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Plato's Theaetetus and Gettier's "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge" Questions 1. Though he commends "the nobility and liberality" of Theaetetus' nature, Socrates does not find his answer appropriate and elaborates why. When Theaetetus defines knowledge, instead of summing all of its components in the abstract, he goes on to explain its individual aspects which was not what Socrates had asked for. Socrates explains his point of view by taking the example of clay. Saying that "there is a clay of oven-makers, there is a clay of brick-makers" yet this would not answer the nature of the subject of clay (Plato 6). A broader generalization is "that clay is moistened earth" (Plato 7). In light of this example, Theaetetus relates how his friends came to the generalization and definition of oblong numbers, square numbers, and roots. Hence, commending his success on arriving at such an appropriate conclusion, Socrates encourages him to consider finding the abstract of knowledge in place of defining it through its individual components. 2. When Theaetetus puts forth his second definition of knowledge as perception, Socrates encourages him to examine the definition and neither accepts nor refutes it immediately. He compares it to Protagoras' famous saying "Man is a measure of all things" and by way of forming questions and answers relating to motion, patience, the active, and the passive, Socrates confirms that Theaetetus was "quite right in affirming that knowledge is perception" (Plato 20). He begins his analysis with how different perceptions are created, adding that as the state of the perceiver or the perceived changes so does the resulting perception, and hence, since the combination affects the conclusion, he believes the premise of his argument to be true. It is seen through his arguments on wine and the drinker how a change in one can lead to an alteration of the overall perception. However, once he affirms that the definition rings with certain authority he continues questioning its authenticity and does not merely stop progressing towards the final conclusion. 3. In their dialogue aiming to understand knowledge, they utilize the preconceived idea of

Protagoras to reach at the truth of what knowledge is. The phrase was brought under question once Theaetetus claimed knowledge to be perception. In comparison to what Theaetetus states, Protagoras believes that "Man is the measure of all things" which means that the perceived depends on the man perceiving (Plato 20). This principle is explained through examples, as that of a blowing wind, that one might feel hotter and another cold, depending on their perception. It is highly relevant, because it provides a depth to Theaetetus' argument and brings them to understanding how it is affected by various conditions. Hence, they refer to it when trying to infer the authenticity of their own idea. 4. Gettier believes that though justified belief might help one arrive at the answer, the 'knowing' of the person is under question. As stated in Case I, Smith - by evidence and deduction - states that since he knows that Jones will be selected and that he has ten coins in his pockets, it is safely assumed by comparison that the person with ten coins in his pocket will be employed. However, in the case that Smith is employed due to some reason unknown to him and that he is unaware that he too has ten coins in his pocket, then though the latter statement will hold true for his justified belief but not the former. That is Smith is true to believe that the man will ten coins will be chose but "he does not know" that completely due to a false premise (Gettier 123). Hence, his knowledge is justified but incorrect, which means that it is, in truth, incomplete and that he has not considered a possible inconsistency in his data.

Works Cited Gettier, Edmund L. "Is justified true belief knowledge?" Analysis, vol. 23, no. 6, 1963, pp. 121123. Plato. Theaetetus. Translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Internet Classics Archive, MIT, n.d., MIT. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html. accessed 30 January 2018....