The swamping problem is a problem that appears in the context of
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
that shows that the idea that knowledge has no additional value over true belief. The problem assumes that knowledge is a
true justified belief—the canonical definition—and proceeds to show that knowledge has no more value over true belief by showing that the justification requirement does not add value to the definition. The first known historical mentioning of the problem is in
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
Meno
''Meno'' (; grc-gre, Μένων, ''Ménōn'') is a Socratic dialogue by Plato. Meno begins the dialogue by asking Socrates whether virtue is taught, acquired by practice, or comes by nature. In order to determine whether virtue is teachable ...
, when Meno and Socrates have a discussion on how they should choose their guide to
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
. Meno suggests that they need someone who knows the route, but Socrates suggests that someone with true opinion will do as well.
External links
The value of knowledge-SEPWhat is the swamping problemThe swamping problemCoherentist theories of epistemic justification-SEP
Epistemology
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