A summary of Knowledge First Approaches in Epistemology and Mind

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In the paper “Knowledge First: Approaches in Epistemology and Mind”, it is noted justified true belief analysis of knowledge has been bought down by Edmund Gettier. The authors posit a knowledge first approach to overcome this with two different constructions- representational and metaphysical. Representational knowledge comes through conceptual analysis, the concept of knowledge not being reducible to other concepts that are necessary and sufficient for its application, rather it is a part in analyses of other mental concepts. This conception of knowledge is primitive because of it not being analysable in terms of other concepts. By contrast metaphysical knowledge is where you do not know because of knowledge being in certain other mental states, rather, one is in certain other mental states because of knowing. An example to demonstrate this is that you do know you are happy because you are in a state of happiness, rather you are happy because you know something that is making you happy.

The authors delve into what it is to perceive an object, claiming that there is a causal condition on object perception, giving an example that “S perceives o only if o causes an experience in S” and further note that this is not enough on its own to have this necessary condition for object perception. The metaphysical explanation of object perception needs conditions on the right-hand side of the biconditional that are not themselves explained in terms of object perception, as one is perceiving through knowledge rather than seeing object and inferring knowledge. Holding to representational knowledge object perception cannot be reduced to other forms of mental concept, rather it is a part in analyses of other mental concepts.

The metaphysical knowledge approach holds that knowledge is first among epistemic states when ordered in relation to metaphysical explanation, knowledge being a general factive mental state for example remembering that I have a dog or regretting that I have a dog entails that I know I have a dog. This knowledge first approach is credited to Timothy Williams.

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