These are cases used to refute that knowledge is simply:

  • Belief
  • Truth
  • Justification

Examples

  • Suppose Evan believes harmful mushrooms are harmless because he reads a misprinted field guide
  • Thus, Evan believes that some mushrooms in his kitchen are harmless
  • Evan has justification that the mushrooms are harmless
  • Evan’s wife put some harmless mushrooms in the kitchen the other day
  • Evan does not know that there are harmless mushrooms in the kitchen
  • The fact of ‘there are harmless mushrooms in the kitchen’ is true
  • Evan does not have this knowledge, even though all 3 variables are met