Active learning ideas
Truth, Belief, and Justification explores the 'Tripartite Theory of Knowledge' (Justified True Belief) and its challenges. This topic is central to the Epistemology strand (C2) and teaches students that simply 'being right' isn't the same as 'knowing.' We look at the 'Gettier Problems,' which show cases where someone has a justified true belief but still doesn't seem to have 'knowledge' because of luck.
Activity 01
Groups are given 'Gettier cases' (e.g., the broken clock that happens to show the right time). They must debate why these scenarios feel like 'luck' rather than 'knowledge' and try to propose a 'fourth condition' to fix the definition of knowledge.
What is the difference between belief and knowledge?
Activity 02
Pairs are given a statement like 'The CN Tower is in Toronto.' They must explain why it's true using the Correspondence Theory (it matches reality) and then using the Coherence Theory (it fits with everything else we know about geography).
How do we justify our beliefs?
Activity 03
One student makes a claim. Others must challenge the 'justification' (e.g., 'I saw it on TikTok' vs. 'I read a peer-reviewed study'). The class votes on whether the justification is 'strong' enough to turn a belief into knowledge.
What makes a statement true?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
If I believe something and it turns out to be true, I 'knew' it all along.
Knowledge requires *justification*. If you guess the lottery numbers correctly, you didn't 'know' them; you just had a lucky true belief. Active 'Justification Games' help students see that the *process* of getting to the truth matters as much as the truth itself.
Truth is just whatever a person believes.
This confuses 'belief' with 'truth.' Using the Correspondence Theory in a hands-on activity helps students see that truth usually requires a relationship with an external reality, regardless of what we believe.
Methods used in this brief
Rationalism vs. Empiricism
Students compare the two primary epistemological schools of thought regarding the source of human knowledge. They will study key thinkers like Descartes, Locke, and Hume.
8 methodologies
Skepticism and the Limits of Knowledge
Students explore philosophical skepticism and the arguments that challenge our ability to know anything with certainty. They will evaluate the practical implications of radical skepticism.
8 methodologies