Philosophy / Unit 1 Philosophy 0026 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Counterexamples
Captions available
The idea
A counterexample is a single case that meets a claim's conditions while escaping its conclusion, refuting the claim as stated.
In practice
Claim: knowledge is true belief. Counterexample: a lucky guess can be a true belief, yet nobody calls it knowledge.
Where people slip
One counterexample defeats a universal claim—but the productive response is revision, not surrender.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Philosophy