What is knowledge? What, for that matter, is truth? If there is absolute truth, how could we know about it? Is it possible to articulate a list of conditions that must be met in order for a person to know something, rather than to merely believe it? Public philosopher James Graf has broken through the impasse on this question, known as The Gettier problems. But the question of how this relates to the good life, and thus the quest for a workable practical philosophy, lies behind Graf’s exploration of the nature of knowledge.
Books
Knowledge By Acceptance, 2nd Ed. (2019) – This book articulates an absolutist theory of truth, as descriptive success – Descriptive Success-Revised (DS-R).
But its main contribution is an analysis of knowledge that overcomes the Gettier problems – The six-condition No Unacceptable Element (NUE) analysis of knowledge.
Listen to the full text on the Plato’s Projects with James Graf podcast.
Podcasts
Plato’s Projects with James Graf is an intellectual/academic philosophy podcast. It discusses contemporary philosophy, starting with full audio of Graf’s Gettier-overcoming theory of knowledge work, Knowledge By Acceptance, 2nd edition (2019).
Courses
Universal Love – Beyond Anger and Forgiveness
The practical philosophy course, “Universal Love – Beyond Anger and Forgiveness,” we begin a journey to the heart of a workable practical philosophy, with what Graf considers to be the best entry point for those already very comfortable and familiar with philosophy. We study Martha Nussbaum’s Anger & Forgiveness, to explore the nature of anger, and her thesis that genuine, full-blown anger is never the best response, instead advocating a life of non-anger, but rather future-oriented, love-based indomitable activism. Graf draws from his own two-and-a-half decade journey from avoiding his anger via self-abnegation, to seeking a healthy place for anger (amid destructive explosions of it), to becoming equipped with understanding of why, and practical tools to, live, a life where full-blown anger is mostly avoided, and when not avoided, short-lived and quickly dissipated.
The Nature of Knowledge: Studying Knowledge By Acceptance
In the course “The Nature of Knowledge: Studying Knowledge By Acceptance“, we study the analysis of knowledge laid out in Knowledge By Acceptance (KBA), 2nd Edition. As we proceed through KBA, following its argument leading to its analysis of knowledge, at every step we apply its theory and examples to the client’s own everyday life and practical problems. Applying the Socratic doctrine that virtue is knowledge and its corollary, that evil is ignorance, a deeper, forthcoming theory of the good life is alluded to, drawing subtle connections to the practical philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and especially of contemporary philosopher Martha Nussbaum.
About
James John Graf is a public philosopher, especially of epistemology (the theory of knowledge), and practical philosophy (the theory of the good life). He is an author, hosts a podcast directed at academic/intellectual audiences, and teaches live online courses on practical philosophy to individuals and small groups.