Generic AO1/introducion to use for all 'is x theory a convincing account for knowledge'

what is the classical way definitions of knowledge work

The classic way definitions of knowledge work is by relying on the idea of necessary and sufficient conditions.

necessary and sufficient conditions

Necessary conditions being ones (conditions) that must be true in order for another condition to occur- and can be thought of like PREREQUISITE for the condition.

Whilst a sufficient condition is one that, of true, guarantees a certain outcome.

give an example

For example, necessary = being unmarried, being male

sufficient = being an unmarried male

FOR THE DEFINITION OF a bachelor.

how would this apply to definitions of knowledge

When applied to theories of knowledge, specifically definitions on defining what constitutes as knowledge, a good or satisfactory DEFINITION WOULD BE ONE WHERE all the necessary conditions must jointly be sufficient to ensure that every instance of knowledge is accounted for in the definition and the definition guarantees an instance of knowledge.

who argues against this conception of language

Wittgenstein-> argues that not all concepts can be defined using necessary sufficient conditions.

what does he say many concepts dont share

Many concepts don’t share one single essence.

what example does he use

He uses that example of games

why games

there is no single feature that games share. Some are competitive, some are not.

Some involve skill some are luck.

some are physical some are mental.

wo what does this mean for the necessary and sufficient conditions of games

So, there is no necessary conditions involving games and therefore there cannot be any sufficient conditions involving games \ AS THEY ARE CONTINGENT ON THE Necessary CONTIONS.

what does he argue that occurs in the concept of games

Instead they overlap in a network of similarities

However, for the sake of this essay…

we will be classifying good and bad definitions for knowledge based on whether they have satisfactory necessary and sufficient conditions that account for each instance where it is intuitive that knowledge is present.

This allows for us to also highlight exactly where a definition may fail in accounting for knowdge. As, if Included things that aren’t necessary

too narrow, things that are knowledge that the definition exclude.

Not sufficient

too broad, meaning that things that are not knowledge included into the knowledge definition.

importantly we are focusing on propositional knowledge

which is the knowledge that, or knowledge of facts, descriptions, concepts or a specific set of propositions, ie a claim about that world which can either be true of false.