Second Paper--Theory of Knowledge

Some general advice about writing these papers here. It is expected that you will make improvements in your writing that are responsive to the feedback you got on the first paper. Do not make the same mistakes again. The standards for an acceptable paper will shift up as the semester proceeds.

Write a short paper (3-5 pages) in which you critically respond to some particular issue concerning the Gettier Problem. Your sources include, but are not limited to, Gettier's paper (pg. 125), Feldman (127), Goldman (pg. 129), or Lehrer (pg. 138). There are lots of other papers written on this one—you are free to look at and respond to one of those.

The introduction should include a clear statement of the thesis you will be arguing for and a brief summary of the reasons you will offer for it. Then you will need to give a brief explanation of the Gettier problem in the first paragraph or two. You probably won't need to explain both of his versions of the problem unless something in your argument depends upon it. Then the rest of the paper should be devoted to developing your critical thesis and your reasons for drawing this conclusion.

Do not just explain the Gettier examples and how they work. I am also discouraging papers in which you argue that Gettier's examples don't work because Smith is not justified; the widespread consensus is that that is not a problem with Gettier's argument, and those sorts of critical responses often miss the more important implications of Gettier type cases.

Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point font, with 1" margins. It should be free of spelling, grammar, and structure errors. Follow the writing guidelines carefully: www.csus.edu/phil/req/writing.htm. If you are having problems with the paper, email me or see me with an early draft of the paper.