Self-knowledge, externalism, and skepticism
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 74 (74):93-118 (2000)
| Abstract | [Brian P. McLaughlin] In recent years, some philosophers have claimed that we can know a priori that certain external world skeptical hypotheses are false on the basis of a priori knowledge that we are in certain kinds of mental states, and a priori knowledge that those mental states are individuated by contingent environmental factors. Appealing to a distinction between weak and strong a priority, I argue that weakly a priori arguments of this sort would beg the question of whether the skeptical hypothesis under assessment is true, and that the prospect of a sound strongly a priori argument of this sort seems dim. \\\ [David Owens] Contemporary discussion of scepticism focuses on the possibility that most or all of our beliefs might be false. I argue that the hypothesis of massive falsity and the associated 'problem of the external world' are inessential to the scepticisms of Descartes and Hume. What drives Cartesian and Humean scepticism is the demand for certainty: any possibility of error, however local, must be ruled out before we can claim either justified belief or knowledge. Contemporary philosophers have ignored this form of scepticism because they doubt that the demand for certainty can be motivated. But Descartes provides a sound motivation for this demand in the Meditations | |||||||||
| Keywords | A Priori Epistemology Externalism Scepticism Self-knowledge Kant | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesTadeusz Szubka (2000). Meaning Rationalism, a Priori, and Transparency of Content. Philosophical Psychology 13 (4):491-503.
Anthony L. Brueckner (2001). A Priori Knowledge of the World Not Easily Available. Philosophical Studies 104 (1):109-114.
Anthony L. Brueckner (1994). Knowledge of Content and Knowledge of the World. Philosophical Review 103 (2):327-343.
Sven Bernecker (2000). Knowing the World by Knowing One's Mind. Synthese 123 (1):1-34.
Klaas J. Kraay (2002). Externalism, Memory, and Self-Knowledge. Erkenntnis 56 (3):297-317.
Jeff Malpas (1994). Self-Knowledge and Scepticism. Erkenntnis 40 (2):165-184.
Andr Gallois (1996). Externalism and Skepticism. Philosophical Studies 81 (1):1-26.
David J. Owens & Brian P. McLaughlin (2000). Self-Knowledge, Externalism and Scepticism: II--David Owens, Scepticisms: Descartes and Hume. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 74 (74):119-142.
David Owens (2000). Self-Knowledge, Externalism and Scepticism, II. Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 74 (1):119–142.
Brian P. McLaughlin (2000). Self-Knowledge, Externalism, and Skepticism,I. Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 74 (1):93–118.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads30 ( #40,771 of 548,976 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,438 of 548,976 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
