The Contexts of Knowing

Abstract

One of the most seductive traps for the novice philosopher is to draw the following inference. She will note correctly that perennial philosophical questions, such as the concept of knowledge, may be usefully addressed by examining speech acts, such as claims to know. From that methodological insight, she may infer that there is a one-to-one relationship between having knowledge and being in a position to claim, ‘I know …’. She may assume that whenever one has knowledge, one may appropriately claim to know.