Knowledge, certainty, and assertion

Philosophical Psychology 29 (2):293-299 (2016)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Researchers have debated whether knowledge or certainty is a better candidate for the norm of assertion. Should you make an assertion only if you know it's true? Or should you make an assertion only if you're certain it's true? If either knowledge or certainty is a better candidate, then this will likely have detectable behavioral consequences. I report an experiment that tests for relevant behavioral consequences. The results support the view that assertability is more closely linked to knowledge than to certainty. In multiple scenarios, people were much more willing to allow assertability and certainty to come apart than to allow assertability and knowledge to come apart

Similar books and articles

What Assertion Doesn't Show.Conor McHugh - 2012 - European Journal of Philosophy 20 (3):407-429.
A Note on Existentially Known Assertions.Ivan Milić - 2015 - Philosophical Quarterly 65 (261):813-821.
Warranted assertability maneuvers and the rules of assertion.Leo Iacono - 2008 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 89 (4):460-469.
The status of the knowledge account of assertion.Frank Hindriks - 2007 - Linguistics and Philosophy 30 (3):393-406.
The Express Knowledge Account of Assertion.John Turri - 2011 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 89 (1):37-45.
Why Certainty is Not a Mansion.Elly Vintiadis - 2006 - Journal of Philosophical Research 31:143-152.
Assertion, knowledge and predictions.Matthew Benton - 2012 - Analysis 72 (1):102-105.
Knowledge and suberogatory assertion.John Turri - 2013 - Philosophical Studies (3):1-11.
Dubious assertions.David Sosa - 2008 - Philosophical Studies 146 (2):269 - 272.
Contextualism and warranted assertion.Jim Stone - 2007 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 88 (1):92–113.

Analytics

Added to PP
2016-02-06

Downloads
376 (#48,618)

6 months
120 (#25,808)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

John Turri
University of Waterloo

Citations of this work

Experimental work on the norms of assertion.John Turri - 2017 - Philosophy Compass 12 (7):e12425.
Truth‐Sensitivity and Folk Epistemology.Mikkel Gerken - 2020 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 100 (1):3-25.
Arne Næss’s experiments in truth.Jamin Asay - 2024 - Erkenntnis 89 (2):545-566.
Vision, knowledge, and assertion.John Turri - 2016 - Consciousness and Cognition 41:41-49.

View all 15 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Knowledge and practical interests.Jason Stanley - 2005 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Knowledge and its Limits.Timothy Williamson - 2000 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 64 (1):200-201.
Knowledge and Action.John Hawthorne & Jason Stanley - 2008 - Journal of Philosophy 105 (10):571-590.
Knowledge and Lotteries.John Hawthorne - 2005 - Philosophical Quarterly 55 (219):353-356.
Norms of assertion.Jennifer Lackey - 2007 - Noûs 41 (4):594–626.

View all 28 references / Add more references