Dear Doctor Craig, I have been studying the defense of the Christian faith for the better part of six months now. Are they the same? Isn't this wrong? Rob Bass. M ust we have bombproof certainty before we can say that we know something? Does knowledge require certainty? Some knowledge does NOT require evidence. If not, how do they differ? Does Knowledge Require Bombproof Certainty? Some arguments might seem to show that all knowledge must rest on a foundation of certainties, even if knowledge in general does not require certainty. Does Knowledge Require Certainty? Although some philosophers have thought that there is no difference between knowledge and certainty, it has become increasingly common to distinguish them. Q and A with Dr. Craig: Does Knowledge Require Certainty? Is it possible for someone to know that p without being certain that p, or to be certain that p without knowing that p? requires certainty are also arguments that "knowledge" does not require "certainty". Peter Unger's argument for his novel form of skepticism involves two premises, only the first of which will be of interest to me in this paper. Knowledge requires truth – or if a statement is known, then it is true. Unger's Argument In "A Defense of Skepticism" (Philosophical Review 80 1971), my colleague Peter Unger argues as follows: If you know that p, then you have to be absolutely certain that p. For most propositions p that you believe, you're not absolutely certain that p. So for … But you do need evidence that the sky is blue. I'm currently listening to a podcast talking about knowledge and a whole bunch of other stuff, but one of the hosts made the claim that "Knowledge doesn't require certainty.". (In a derivative way, certainty is also an epistemic property of subjects: S is certain that p just in case S's belief that p is certain.) Doesn't mean the knowledge or information isn't true, it just has a possibility of being false because of faulty … Also, evidence does not have to be absolute and irrefutable. It can be hearsay, taught to you, on the internet, from books, or from guessing. by William Lane Craig. We might attempt to avoid this skeptical result either by denying that knowledge requires certainty or holding that we do enjoy the sort of certainty required. Share Tweet Share +1 Buffer Email. The argument goes approximately like this: 1. Knowledge Requires Certainty? Fall, 2000 Bill has offered an argument that knowledge requires certainty that goes wrong in two ways, first on a logical matter and second, more importantly I suspect, by confusing a logical point with a claim about epistemic status. 1. The first premise is that "If one knows, then it is all right for one to be certain" (1975, p. 98). In order to know P, how good does your justification for believing P have to be? Like knowledge, certainty is an epistemic property of beliefs. Is it all or nothing — 100 percent certainty (that is, it is impossible that I am wrong) or hopeless skepticism? You don't need evidence to know that 1+1=2. Epistemology - Epistemology - Knowledge and certainty: Philosophers have disagreed sharply about the complex relationship between the concepts of knowledge and certainty. I don’t think so, because this dilemma is a false one.