Problem of the criterion

Problem

Discussed since antiquity, Chisholm, in his Theory of Knowledge (1966), details the problem of the criterion with two sets of questions:

1. What do we know? or What is the extent of our knowledge?
2. How do we know? or What is the criterion for deciding whether we have knowledge in any particular case?

Answering the former question first is called particularism, whereas answering the latter first is called methodism. A third solution is skepticism, or doubting there is such a thing as knowledge.