Day
13: Reliabilism, Objections & Replies (& Objections and Replies…)
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Review
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Objections to Necessity
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Objections to Sufficiency
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Comparison and Contrast
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Reread IE 107-132.
Objections to
Necessity
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The generality problem (or the problem of the comparison class)
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challenge to both reliabilist theories of knowledge and justification
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Replies
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causally operative properties
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the empirical sciences will figure it out
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this is everybody’s problem
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Discussion
Objections to
Necessity
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The New Evil Demon Problem
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This is a challenge to reliabilist theories of justification (not
knowledge)
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originally pressed by Stuart Cohen and Keith Lehrer
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Replies
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Normal Worlds
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Weak Justification (IE, p. 102)
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Discussion
Objections to
Sufficiency
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Laurence BonJour’s Norman the psychic, Keith Lehrer’s Mr. Truetemp, &
related
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Can be used to challenge both reliabilist theories of knowledge and
justification
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Replies
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invoke reliable processes that ought to have been used
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Nonjustified?
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Bite the bullet, and argue for it (Schmitt’s Andromadeans)
And the Debate Goes
On
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For more on reliabilism, including objections and replies:
Comparison and Contrast
•
With respect to internalism and externalism:
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How does Goldman compare to BonJour?
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How does Goldman compare to Brandom?
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How does BonJour compare to Brandom?
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Later in the course, we’ll examine Ernest Sosa’s work, and we’ll look at
possible objections and replies to Brandom when studying Sosa