Assignment

#1: Theory of Knowledge Study Guide by Sharon Nicholls

Definition: Various analyses of what knowledge means have been proposed but there has been no
consensus. Epistemology is the study of the theory of knowledge or a theory of the nature and
grounds of knowledge with reference to its limits and validity.

Explanation:
Philosophers have had difficulty defining knowledge and many use the tripartite theory of
knowledge. This is a tradition that goes back as far as Plato. This theory states that three
conditions must happen to possess knowledge. These three conditions are belief (unless one
believes in something, one does not know it), truth (if someone knows something it must be true),
and justification (it is not enough to believe something to be correct and true, but one must have a
good reason for doing so). Edmund Gettiers critique of the tripartite theory in the 1960s, using
thought-experiments called the Gettier cases, led to its rejection . Although the theory was rejected,
it is still used as a model by philosophers.


Example: During our current political election for president there has been much debate over the
differences between facts and beliefs/opinions. Spin and overstatement has often been a part of
political campaigns, but this year fact checkers have been very busy. On July 1, 2016, according to
Politifact, out of 174 statements by Donald Trump, 16 were found to be true, seventy had been
judged false and 34 were rated Pants on fire. In the case of Hilary Clinton, Politifact determined
that out 218 statements, 112 were judged to be true, 24 false, and 3 were Pants on fire.

Representative Image:

Implications for School Librarianship

One of the implications of the tripartite theory of knowledge in the library is that in
order for students to gain knowledge, it is important to teach students how to analyze
their sources of information critically, much like a fact checker determines the
difference between fact and opinion during a political speech. One strategy for this is
teaching students how to determine high quality websites and sources as they do
their research.
Source of Information Citation:

Theory of Knowledge: http://www.theoryof knowledge.info/

Epistemology (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2016 from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/epistemology
Feldmann, Linda. How 2016 Became the Fact Check Election. Christian Science Monitor,
July 1, 2016.