Days 2 & 3

Days 2 & 3: Goldman on Folk & Scientific Epistemology

• Goldman on the Goals of Epistemology

• Some Challenges to Reliabilism

• Descriptive and Normative Epistemology

• Different Approaches to Justification

• Responsibilist Epistemology

• Assign Essay 1

• Reread “Epistemic folkways…”; to get ahead, read J. Haugeland’s “What is Mind Design?” (available through ereserve)

Goldman on the Goals of Epistemology

• What do some philosophers say are the goals of epistemology?

• What does Goldman say are the goals of epistemology?

• According to Goldman, what are the branches of “scientific epistemology?”

• What is Goldman’s hypothesis regarding epistemic virtues and vices?

Some Challenges to Reliabilism

• What is the new evil demon problem? What is the point?

• What are BonJour’s cases? What is their point?

• How does Goldman reply? How does he apply his more recent account of epistemic virtues to these cases?

Descriptive & Normative Epistemology

• Why is it that descriptive epistemology makes use of sciences like psychology and cognitive science?

• Why is it that normative epistemology will make use of sciences like psychology and cognitive science?

• Different Approaches to Justification

• Some examples

• Weak and strong justification (internalism & externalism; first person & third person, objectivist and subjectivist, etc…)

Responsibilist Epistemology

• What is a responsibilist epistemology?

• What is Kornblith’s example? Why does Goldman bring it up?

• What does it mean to say that memory works by content addressing? How does Goldman use this point?

Essay 1

• Your essay assignment can be found at

• Some remarks on the essay assignment