Key Idea: Topic 3.1 asks the founding question of the theory of knowledge: what is knowledge, and where does it come from? Nail down what 'knowing' means and you can judge any knowledge claim that follows. This optional theme is examined in Paper 1 Section B — a 25-mark 'Evaluate the claim that…' essay. This whole topic is the toolkit you bring to it.
🧠 The five big questions, one card each
Topic 3.1 at a glance
- 3.1.1 · What is knowledge? — Knowledge is not just being right — it's justified true belief (JTB): all three at once. The 'justified' part is what rules out a lucky guess that happens to be true.
- 3.1.2 · Truth — Three theories of what makes a claim true: correspondence (it matches reality), coherence (it fits your other beliefs), pragmatic (acting on it works). Each captures part of the story; none is complete alone.
- 3.1.3 · Rationalism vs empiricism — Where does knowledge come FROM? Rationalism trusts reason and innate ideas (Descartes); empiricism says the mind is a blank slate and every idea starts from experience (Locke, Hume). The deep question: does reason give us anything the senses couldn't?
- 3.1.4 · Sources of knowledge — Perception, reason and testimony — most of what you know, you were told. Distrust testimony completely and you'd know almost nothing, so reliable testimony IS knowledge. Bhartrhari adds a fourth source: pratibha, a flash of insight.
- 3.1.5 · Reasoning and self-knowledge — Deduction gives certainty; induction only gives good bets. Hume's problem of induction shows world-knowledge runs on induction, so it is well-supported belief, not proof. Even knowing yourself is hard-won, not automatic.
Justified true belief. To KNOW something you need all three: you believe it, it's true, and you have good reasons. Drop any one and it isn't knowledge — a true belief with no reasons is just a lucky guess. Almost every argument in this topic is really a fight over the justified part: what counts as a good enough reason, and where those reasons come from.
✍️ Bring it together — a Section B question
Evaluate the claim that all knowledge begins with experience.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Explaining the topic instead of evaluating the claim. Section B is not 'tell me everything about knowledge' — it is 'is THIS claim true?' Every paragraph must push the claim forward: argue for it, test it against the strongest objection, then judge. A thinker's name earns nothing without their argument doing work on the claim — and a top answer always lands a reasoned conclusion, never 'it's just opinion'.
✅ Check yourself
If you can answer these six, you have the spine of the whole topic.
What are the three parts of JTB? Justification, truth and belief — all at once. Drop justification and a true belief is just a lucky guess, not knowledge.
Name the three theories of truth. Correspondence (matches reality), coherence (fits your other beliefs), pragmatic (acting on it works). Each captures part of the truth.
Rationalism vs empiricism in one line? Rationalism: reason and innate ideas come first (Descartes). Empiricism: every idea starts from experience, blank slate (Locke, Hume).
Why does testimony count as knowledge? Most of what you know, you were told. Distrust testimony completely and you'd know almost nothing — so reliable testimony is real knowledge.
Deduction vs induction? Deduction gives certainty (the conclusion is guaranteed). Induction only gives good bets — likely, not proven.
What is Hume's problem of induction? We assume the future will resemble the past, but we can't prove it without already assuming it. So world-knowledge is well-supported belief, not proof.
Exam tips
- Section B is a 25-mark 'Evaluate the claim that…' essay with NO stimulus — the claim itself is your whole starting point.
- Evaluate, don't describe: argue for the claim, then against it, then weigh and conclude.
- Name a thinker ONLY with their argument working on the claim — a name on its own earns no marks.
- Try splitting the claim (content vs structure, one source vs two) — that move unlocks a sharper, higher-level answer.