Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Changes in Events and Changes in Things', 'works' and 'Intro to Contemporary Epistemology'

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4 ideas

13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 1. External Justification

2776	Externalism could even make belief unnecessary (e.g. in animals) [Dancy,J]
	Full Idea: One reading of the externalist approach may lead to a rejection of the belief condition for knowledge (in animals, perhaps).
	From: Jonathan Dancy (Intro to Contemporary Epistemology [1985], 9.3)
	A reaction: At this point the concept of 'knowledge' seems to disperse into the mist. This pushes me to a 'setting the bar high' view of knowledge. Otherwise plants will have it, and we don't want that.

13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 2. Causal Justification

2746	How can a causal theory of justification show that all men die? [Dancy,J]
	Full Idea: How can a causal analysis of justification show that I know that all men die?
	From: Jonathan Dancy (Intro to Contemporary Epistemology [1985], 2.3)
	A reaction: I presume he means that inductive generalisations can't be purely causal. The claim that men are immortal is absurd because it is 'unconnected' to what actually happens.

2747	Causal theories don't allow for errors in justification [Dancy,J]
	Full Idea: Causal accounts of justification do not allow for the possibility that a false belief may still be justified.
	From: Jonathan Dancy (Intro to Contemporary Epistemology [1985], 2.4)
	A reaction: Good. If you switch to what you only think is the cause of your belief, you have gone internalist and ruined the party. You can't deny that a falsehood can be justified, or justification is vacuous.

13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 8. Social Justification

2772	Coherentism moves us towards a more social, shared view of knowledge [Dancy,J]
	Full Idea: An advantage of coherentism is that it directs attention away from the individual's struggle to achieve knowledge (the classical conception), and points to knowledge as a social phenomenon, shared, and increased by means of sharing.
	From: Jonathan Dancy (Intro to Contemporary Epistemology [1985], 8.3)
	A reaction: This is exactly the view which I now embrace. Internal coherence is the basis, but that spills out into the community, and into books, and into the relativity of social acceptance.