AN ACTION-ORIENTED ACCOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE GETTIER PROBLEM BASED UPON WANG YANGMING’S PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

The Gettier problem for the classical analysis of knowledge (also known as the JTB theory) arises from scenarios where a justified true belief is true by chance, and as a result is not plausibly taken to be an instance of knowledge. Epistemologists often address the Gettier problem by positing extra conditions to construct a stable connection between the subject and truth. However, they tend to overlook the dynamic and practical aspects of knowledge, focusing instead on providing a ‘static’ reductive analysis that captures the fixed essence of the concept of knowledge. I critique such limitations and argue that knowledge resists static and fixed definitions, requiring a more dynamic and practice-oriented perspective. In this essay, I provide an alternative approach to understand knowledge with respect to the Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming’s theory of the unity of knowledge and action (zhi xing he yi 知行合一).

Submitted: 19 November 2025

Accepted: 27 December 2025