Epistemic justification in the context of pursuit: a coherentist approach

Synthese 191 (13):3111-3141 (2014)
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to offer an account of epistemic justification suitable for the context of theory pursuit, that is, for the context in which new scientific ideas, possibly incompatible with the already established theories, emerge and are pursued by scientists. We will frame our account paradigmatically on the basis of one of the influential systems of epistemic justification: Laurence Bonjour’s coherence theory of justification. The idea underlying our approach is to develop a set of criteria which indicate that the pursued system is promising of contributing to the epistemic goal of robustness of scientific knowledge and of developing into a candidate for acceptance. In order to realize this we will (a) adjust the scope of Bonjour’s standards—consistency, inferential density, and explanatory power, and (b) complement them by the requirement of a programmatic character. In this way we allow for the evaluation of the “potential coherence” of the given epistemic system.

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Author Profiles

Dunja Šešelja
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Christian Straßer
Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Citations of this work

Rational endorsement.Will Fleisher - 2018 - Philosophical Studies 175 (10):2649-2675.
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How to endorse conciliationism.Will Fleisher - 2021 - Synthese 198 (10):9913-9939.
Pursuit and inquisitive reasons.Will Fleisher - 2022 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 94 (C):17-30.
On the very idea of pursuitworthiness.Jamie Shaw - 2022 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 91 (C):103-112.

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References found in this work

The structure of empirical knowledge.Laurence BonJour - 1985 - Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal.Heather Douglas - 2009 - University of Pittsburgh Press.
Science, truth, and democracy.Philip Kitcher - 2001 - New York: Oxford University Press.

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