Topics Knowledge

Question Can we unknow what we already know?

Accepted:
March 6, 2016

Comments

I'd say yes.

Stephen Maitzen

March 10, 2016 (changed March 10, 2016) Permalink

I'd say yes.

One way would be if (for whatever reason) you ceased to believe some proposition P that you formerly knew to be true. If belief is a precondition for knowledge, then you'd no longer know that P.

Another way might be, while retaining your belief of P, to come to believe (or indeed even know) some proposition Q your belief of which undermines your justification for believing P and thereby deprives you of the knowledge of P that you formerly had. See Carl Ginet's article "Knowing Less By Knowing More" (linked here).

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