Time for a beer
Edmund and Bertrand had arranged to meet for a few beers after work at the Philosopher’s Head. Both were avid drinkers of Fullers’ London Pride. Edmund was 99 per cent sure he’d had a pint of London Pride in the Philosopher’s Head, but just to make sure he looked it up on the internet, and sure enough it was listed as a Fullers pub.
Bertrand, who worked near the pub, decided to check it out himself in his lunch hour. He saw beer pumps labelled “Fullers London Pride”, but he also saw a sign over the bar saying “Under New Management. We are now a Free house”.
The pub sold London Pride, as Edmund believed. But was he right to say he knew, i.e., did his belief count as knowledge [justified true belief]?
Edmund believed the pub sold London Pride;
He had evidence that this was so (his belief was justified);
It was true that the pub sold London Pride.
However, the pub was now a free house, so it could have been selling practically anything.
Regardless of the epistemological implications of all this, the moral of the story is obvious: IT’S ALL TOO EASY TO BE COMPLETELY STITCHED UP BY AN OUT-OF-DATE WEBSITE.