The KK thesis or KK principle is a

principle A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the l ...

epistemic logic Epistemic modal logic is a subfield of modal logic that is concerned with reasoning about knowledge. While epistemology has a long philosophical tradition dating back to Ancient Greece, epistemic logic is a much more recent development with applica ...

which states that "If you

know Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

that P is the case then you know that you know that P is the case." This means that one cannot know that P is, if one does not know whether one's knowledge of P is correct. Its application in science can be expressed in the way that it must not only justify its knowledge claims but it must also justify its method of justifying. The principle is also described as knowledge-reflexivity contention.

Principle

In formal notation, the principle can be stated as: "Kp→KKp" (literally: "Knowing p implies the knowing of knowing p"). It is said that the wide acceptance of the thesis steered many philosophers of science towards

skepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

since the thesis features infinite regress and that to know is interpreted as "to know with certainty that one knows". The principle also holds that informational independence has epistemological consequences. An application of the principle may involve Hume's skepticism, which holds that it is not possible to know the induction hypothesis needed to determine the derivative knowledge that P from what is already known. This finally leads to the Humean skeptical conclusion if it is attained using KK hypothesis. An account goes as far as saying that the thesis is false due to these reasons since any argument that depends upon it is unsatisfactory. It is also said that the thesis had been disputed since the introduction of the epistemic logic by

Jaakko Hintikka Kaarlo Jaakko Juhani Hintikka (12 January 1929 – 12 August 2015) was a Finnish philosopher and logician. Life and career Hintikka was born in Helsingin maalaiskunta (now Vantaa). In 1953, he received his doctorate from the University of Hel ...

in 1962. There are contemporary epistemologists who pointed out that skepticism can be rejected by rejecting the KK principle but to do so means one is also rejecting the idea of knowledge.

History

The KK thesis has been associated with the notion of the infallibility of knowledge since ancient philosophers sometimes characterized the latter according to the former's terms.

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's view on infallibility, for example, can be approached according to its framework, particularly concerning his position stated in '' Theatetus'' that truth can only be attained by infallibly knowing it.

, argued that the plausibility of the KK thesis turns upon the acceptance of a strong notion of knowledge and that it is also in part constitutive of that notion. He traced the thesis' earliest iteration in Plato's ''

Charmides Charmides (; grc-gre, Χαρμίδης), son of Glaucon, was an Athenian statesman who flourished during the 5th century BC.Debra Nails, ''The People of Plato'' (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002), 90–94. An uncle of Plato, Charmides appears i ...

'' and the Book of ''Lambda'' of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

's ''

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

''. He also cited examples drawn from other points of philosophical history, citing the works of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, Averoes,

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Dominican Order, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino, Italy, Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest who was an influential List of Catholic philo ...

, and

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, ...

, among others. In response to the critique about the implausibility of the KK thesis, Hintikka stated that it is not an important point because what matters is that the principle is able "to capture a strong sense of knowledge".

Notes and references

External links

* * Modal logic Principles Concepts in epistemology Arguments in philosophy of mind {{philo-stub

Principle

History

See also

Notes and references

External links