1. Gettier’s response to JTB

2. Gettier put forward many examples to show that JTB doesn’t always mean we have knowledge, that actually in fact sometimes it’s purely luck and cannot count as knowledge. He said that if you believe something is so and it’s true but your justification for your belief was not the correct justification for it’s truth, then you don’t have knowledge.

3. One counter example to JTB is Daisy the cow. A farmer wants to know if his cow, Daisy is safe. He goes to look in his field and sees a large black and white cow shape near the stream (justification) that he thinks is Daisy (belief). The farmer goes back and tells his farmhand that Daisy is safe by the river but the farmhand said that he saw Daisy by the shed. Daisy is in fact sitting down by the shed (truth). So, the farmer had a belief that he saw Daisy, had justification, and Daisy was in the field, just not where he thought she was. So, can this count as knowledge? Gettier says it does not.

4. Another counter example that Gettier came up with is Smith and Jones. Smith and Jones are applying for the same job. Smith has been told by the employer that Jones will get the job. Smith has also counted ten pockets in Jones’ pocket. By deductive reasoning, Smith can believe that the man who gets the job will have ten coins in his pocket. Despite what the employer said, Smith gets the job. He later finds out that he too has ten coins in his pocket. So, Smith had justification for his belief and what he believed was true but he came to the conclusion with the wrong justification. Gettier says that this also is not knowledge, but luck.