{"id":17840,"date":"2022-09-02T14:53:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T21:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.plato-philosophy.org\/?post_type=teachertoolkit&p=17840"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T17:04:54","slug":"belief-and-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/belief-and-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Belief and Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have each person write down on a piece of paper:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
    \n
  1. Three things they believe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Three things they know<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Once everyone has their statements, then have them pair up to talk about their claims, and why they put them in the category they did. This should get them started on a conversation about the difference<\/em> between belief and knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then have the group come together and have the pairs offer examples of what they agreed were beliefs and what they agreed counted as knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then ask the group:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    Do they agree with where all the statements are listed? If not, why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What does it take for something we believe to count as knowledge? Consider things like whether we have direct experience of it, whether it is more \u201cobjective\u201d, whether it is certain or at least justified, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Can we know something we don\u2019t believe? (e.g., maybe in those \u201cI have to pinch myself moments\u201d? Why would we say we can\u2019t really believe it?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Can we ever know things? Can we really be wrong about things we thought we knew?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Have each person write down on a piece of paper: Once everyone has their statements, then have them pair up to talk about their claims, and why they put them in the category they did. This should get them started on a conversation about the difference between belief and knowledge. 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