Fred Dretske

Fred Dretske was a prominent philosopher known for his work on knowledge, perception, and the nature of justification in belief. He distinguished between internalism and externalism, two views on whether justification for beliefs comes from internal mental states or external factors. Dretske's contextualism focuses on how the context affects the knowledge we have and what counts as justification. He also contributed to discussions on qualia—our subjective experiences of perception—and how they relate to knowledge. His ideas emphasize the importance of both mental states and the surrounding environment in understanding perception and justification in knowledge.