The Gettier Problem, Buddhist Wisdom, and the Search for True Knowledge
What Do We Really Know? (thegentlelaw.wordpress.com)
What does it mean to know something? For centuries, philosophers believed that knowledge could be defined as Justified True Belief (JTB):
You believe something.
That belief is true.
You have justification for holding that belief.
This seemed like a solid definition—until 1963, when Edmund Gettier showed that you could have a justified true belief and still not have knowledge. His famous thought experiments revealed that what we take to be "knowledge" might be mere coincidence or illusion.
Interestingly, this challenge to the nature of knowledge has deep parallels in Buddhist philosophy. The Buddha repeatedly warned that our conventional understanding of truth is often distorted by impermanence, attachment, and conditioned perception. Could it be that what we think of as certainty is just a convenient illusion?
Let’s explore how the Gettier problem and Buddhist teachings both urge us to reconsider the limits of knowledge.
The Gettier Problem: When Justification Fails
Imagine you’re in a train station looking at a large clock, which reads 10:00 AM. Based on this, you form the belief that it is indeed 10:00 AM. Your belief is:
✅ True (It is 10:00 AM).
✅ Justified (You checked a seemingly reliable clock).
❌ But is it knowledge?
Here’s the twist: the clock stopped working 12 hours ago, and it just happened to show the correct time when you looked at it.
Your belief was true and justified, but it was based on an accidental coincidence. This suggests that JTB isn’t enough to define real knowledge—because sometimes, our justifications rest on false assumptions.
This insight—that what seems like "true knowledge" can be based on unreliable conditions—echoes a core theme in Buddhist teachings.
Buddhist Parallels: The Illusion of Certainty
1. Impermanence and Unreliable Justifications
In the Attadiipaa Sutta ("An Island to Oneself"), the Buddha instructs his disciples:
"Be islands unto yourselves, be your own refuge, having no other; let the Dhamma be an island and a refuge to you, having no other."
This suggests that external sources of truth—whether clocks, social conventions, or even our own perceptions—are inherently unreliable. Much like Gettier’s thought experiments show that justification can fail, the Buddha warns that clinging to impermanent things as "certain truths" can only lead to suffering.
2. Dependent Origination and False Assumptions
Buddhism teaches that all knowledge arises dependently—through conditions, causes, and perceptions that can be misleading.
Consider a classic Buddhist example:
A monk sees a snake in the dark and becomes terrified. But when he looks closer, he realizes it was just a coiled rope. His initial belief was:
Justified (It really looked like a snake).
True? No—it was based on an illusion.
Knowledge? No—because it was a mistaken perception.
Just like in Gettier cases, our minds often construct "knowledge" based on incomplete or deceptive information.
3. The Middle Way: Beyond False Certainties
In the Kaccānagotta Sutta (SN 12.15), the Buddha warns against extreme views of reality:
"The world clings to concepts of 'exists' and 'does not exist.' But the wise see with right understanding that all things arise due to causes."
This means that true wisdom isn’t about finding absolute certainty—it’s about understanding the limits of knowledge itself. In the same way that Gettier cases challenge Western definitions of knowledge, the Buddha challenges us to let go of rigid attachments to "truth" and instead cultivate direct awareness.
Both Gettier and the Buddha reveal something uncomfortable:
The Gettier problem shows that even when we think we "know" something, our justifications might rest on shaky ground.
Buddhism teaches that suffering arises when we cling to any rigid sense of truth, since all things are impermanent and conditioned.
So, what’s the solution?
Rather than seeking absolute certainty, both perspectives encourage intellectual humility and self-reliance:
The Gettier problem reminds us that our reasoning may contain unseen errors.
Buddhism suggests that real wisdom arises not from justification alone, but from direct experience and mindful awareness.
Final Thoughts
Returning to the Attadiipaa Sutta, the Buddha’s advice to be an island unto yourself takes on new meaning in light of the Gettier problem. Instead of seeking certainty in external justifications, we can cultivate an inner refuge—one based on mindfulness rather than blind belief.
Both Gettier and the Buddha teach us this:
What we think we know might not be knowledge at all.
The real path to wisdom lies in questioning, observing, and embracing the uncertainty of knowledge itself.