Knowledge and Skepticism
Topics in Contemporary Philosophy Editors Joseph Keim Campbell, Washington State University Michael O’Rourke, University of Idaho Harry S. Silverstein, Washington State University Editorial Board Members Kent Bach, San Francisco State University Michael Bratman, Stanford University Nancy Cartwright, London School of Economics Richard Feldman, University of Rochester John Martin Fischer, University of California, Riverside Nicholas F. Gier, University of Idaho Philip J. Ivanhoe, Boston University Michael McKinsey, Wayne State University John Perry, Stanford University Stephen Schiffer, New York University Brian Skyrms, University of California, Irvine Holly Smith, Rutgers University Judith Jarvis Thomson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Peter van Inwagen, University of Notre Dame
Knowledge and Skepticism
edited by Joseph Keim Campbell, Michael O’Rourke, and Harry S. Silverstein
A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
( 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please email
[email protected] or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference (7th : 2004 : Pullman, Wash., and Moscow, Idaho) Knowledge and skepticism / edited by Joseph Keim Campbell, Michael O’Rourke, and Harry S. Silverstein. p. cm. — (Topics in contemporary philosophy) ‘‘A Bradford book.’’ Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-262-01408-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-262-51396-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Knowledge, Theory of—Congresses. 2. Skepticism—Congresses. I. Campbell, Joseph Keim, 1958–. II. O’Rourke, Michael, 1963–. III. Silverstein, Harry S., 1942–. IV. Title. BD161.I56 2010 121—dc22 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2009037402
In memory of John Pollock Philosopher, teacher, friend
Contents
Acknowledgments
ix
Introduction: Framing Knowledge and Skepticism 1 Joseph Keim Campbell, Michael O’Rourke, and Harry S. Silverstein I
Knowledge
25
1 Knowledge and Conclusive Evidence David Hemp 2 Theorizing Justification Peter J. Graham
27
45
3 Truth Tracking and the Problem of Reflective Knowledge Joe Salerno
73
4 Contextualism, Skepticism, and Warranted Assertibility Maneuvers Duncan Pritchard 5 Knowledge In and Out of Context Kent Bach
105
6 Contextualism in Epistemology and the Context-Sensitivity of ‘Knows’ 137 Robert J. Stainton 7 Locke’s Account of Sensitive Knowledge George Pappas
165
8 Revelations: On What Is Manifest in Visual Experience Joseph T. Tolliver 9 Knowing It Hurts Fred Dretske
203
181
85
viii
Contents
10 Reasoning Defeasibly about Probabilities John L. Pollock II
Skepticism
219
261
11 Anti-Individualism, Self-Knowledge, and Why Skepticism Cannot Be Cartesian 263 Leora Weitzman 12 Is There a Reason for Skepticism? Joseph Cruz 13 Skepticism Aside Catherine Z. Elgin
309
14 Hume’s Skeptical Naturalism Peter S. Fosl Contributors Index 35