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Can Skeptics Earn Their Keep
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Kvanvig, Jonathan L. |
| Copyright Year | 2020 |
| Abstract | The history of epistemology can plausibly be summarized in terms of conversations with the skeptic, but in much of the twentieth century, skepticism was not taken very seriously. It was a position assumed to be false, with the primary remaining question one of explaining the grounds for concluding that it is in error. My goal here is to move toward a positive account in the opposite direction. As I will metaphorically put it, I want to begin to explain why skeptics are legitimate residents of the epistemological estate, why they deserve a place at the epistemological table. To understand the target, let’s first distinguish skeptical arguments from skepticism itself. The arguments are something every epistemology must cope with, but the conclusion toward which those arguments point is different from the arguments, and need not demand our attention merely because the arguments themselves do, beyond having to figure out where the argument goes wrong. One can view the Moorean common sense tradition as arising from this distinction. Moore isn’t a skeptic and claims that skepticism is self-contradictory.1 But that doesn’t mean that the arguments for skepticism can be ignored. Moore infamously thought those arguments could be disposed of fairly easily, but even if he is right, taking out the trash will still need to be done. Many think, however, that skeptical arguments are not so easily dismissed, and this possibility leads to a further distinction relevant to the goal of denying the skeptic a seat at the table. For, among those who reject the easy dismissal of skeptical arguments on the basis of some common sense theorizing, the typical practice is to jump from the arguments themselves to a rhetorical or dialectical context in which the skeptic is asserting and defending the conclusion of these skeptical arguments. Perhaps the idea here is that if we want to deny the skeptic |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1111/phpr.12670 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.susannaschellenberg.org/REC/Program_files/skepticsearnkeep.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1111/phpr.12670 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
