Rereading Feldman, Criticism Of Plantinga's Theory Of Knowledge Defense Plan

As an externalistic approach to knowledge in contemporary epistemology, Plantinga’s theory of warrant aims to solve the Gettier problem, which troubles the internalistic approach to knowledge. As an epistemologist with an internalistic approach, Feldman criticizes in his Plantinga, Gettier, and Warrant that Plantinga’s theory is inadequate to deal with the Gettier problem, because the concept of cognitive faculty and of design plan in his theory cannot be defined in a non-arbitrary way. However, due to the underdevelopment of Feldman’s criticism, Plantinga finds the way to dismiss the criticism. In this paper, I will point out the real force in Feldman’s criticism through reconstructing and reinterpreting his text, which is as follows:(1) In the three conditions for warrant that Plantinga posits, only the environment condition is relevant for solving the Gettier problem;(2) but to define the concept of proper environment is very difficult, if possible. I will also develop and complete Feldman’s criticism on Plantinga and finally point out the general insolvability of the Gettier problem. Based on both the specific and the general criticism of externalistic approach to knowledge, I hope to pull contemporary epistemology back to internalistic approach.