呢個方法可以解釋葛梯爾嘅反例。第一個反例入面，史密斯相信嘅本質理由係佢認為“瓊斯會得到呢個職位”，但呢個唔成真嘅。第二個反例入面史密斯相信嘅本質理由係“瓊斯有一輛福特車”，呢個都係假。但係，新嘅反例又出現了：
This approach can explain Gettier's counterexample. In the first counter-example, the essential reason for Smith's belief is that he thinks Jones will get uranium for this position, but this is not true. In the second counter-example, the essential reason for Smith's belief is that Lin Jones had a Ford wheel, which is also false. However, a new counter-example has emerged: