Devere Edwards

Philosophers have been attempting to provide a set of criteria for knowledge since ancient times, but this project remains incomplete. If we want to define knowledge this way, we must ask ourselves, which criteria best match our everyday way of talking about knowledge? Therefore, our criteria must be immune to Gettier problems, or cases that depend on luck, because we don’t ordinarily consider knowledge to be a matter of luck. Our criteria must also lead us away from skepticism, because our colloquial definition of knowledge implies that we know many things about the world. After taking these factors into account, it appears that knowledge is best defined as justified true safe belief. (A safe belief is one that you couldn’t easily be wrong about.)