Abstract
Several recent contextualist theorists (e.g. David Lewis, Michael Williams, andKeith DeRose) have proposed contextualizing the skeptic. Their claim is that oneshould view satisfactory answers to global doubts regarding such subjects as theexternal world, other minds, and induction as requirements for justification incertain philosophical contexts, but not in everyday and scientific contexts. Incontrast, the skeptic claims that a satisfactory answer to a global doubt in eachof these areas is a context-invariant requirement for justified belief. In this paper,I consider and reject the arguments Michael Williams develops in his bookUnnatural Doubts that are intended to show that the skeptic's interpretationof the significance of global doubts is mistaken. In addition, I argue that Williams'general strategy in opposing the skeptic is extremely interesting and worth furtherinvestigation, even if his particular execution of it is unsuccessful. To this end, Iclarify the general strategy, distinguish it from a variety of others, and discuss itsprospects as an answer to the skeptic.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
BonJour, L.: 1985, The Structure of Empirical Knowledge, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
DeRose, K.: 1995, ‘Solving the Skeptical Problem’, The Philosophical Review 104, 1-52.
Dretske, F.: 1981, ‘The Pragmatic Dimension of Knowledge’, Philosophical Studies 40, 363-378.
Foley, R.: 1987, The Theory of Epistemic Rationality, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Goldman, A. I.: 1979, ‘What is Justified Belief’, in G. Pappas (ed.), Justification and Knowledge, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 1-23.
Kaplan, D.: 1989, ‘Demonstratives’, in P. Almog and Wettstein (eds), Themes from Kaplan, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 481-563.
Kim, J.: 1996, Philosophy of Mind, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Lehrer, K. and M. Clay, eds: 1989, Knowledge and Skepticism, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Lehrer, K: 1990, Theory of Knowledge, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Lewis, D: 1996, ‘Elusive Knowledge’, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 74, 549-567.
Maclachlan, D. L. C.: 1989, Philosophy of Perception, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
McGrew, T.: 1999, ‘A Defense of Classical Foundationalism’, in L. Pojman (ed.), The Theory of Knowledge, 2nd Edition, Wadsworth, pp. 224-235.
McGrew, T.: 1995, The Foundations of Knowledge, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, MD.
Nagel, T.: 1986, The View from Nowhere, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Rorty, R.: 1979, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Stine, G.: 1974, ‘Skepticism, Relevant Alternatives, and Deductive Closure’, Philosophical Studies 29, 249-261.
Strawson, P. F.: 1985, Skepticism and Naturalism, Some Varieties, Methuen, London.
Stroud, B.: 1984, The Significance of Philosophical Skepticism, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Stroud, B.: 1989, ‘Understanding Human Knowledge in General’, inM. Clay and K. Lehrer (eds), Knowledge and Skepticism, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, pp. 31-49.
Williams, M.: 1977, Groundless Belief, Blackwell, Oxford.
Williams, M.: 1996, Unnatural Doubts, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. (Originally published as: Williams, Michael (1991) Unnatural Doubts, Blackwell, Cambridge, MA.)
Wright, C.: 1985, ‘Facts and Certainty’, Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. LXXI, Oxford University Press, London, pp. 429-472.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jacobson, S. Contextualism And Global Doubts About The World. Synthese 129, 381–404 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013168627459
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013168627459