Epistemic Relativism and Scepticism by Steven Bland

Author:Steven Bland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319946733
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

So, for example, we rightly trust our senses to identify sources of heat that may be beneficial or harmful, but we should not trust our senses to reveal the true nature of heat. Our sense of heat seems to indicate that it exists as a property in external objects, when in fact it is an emergent secondary property resulting from the rapid oscillation of insensible particles. Since extended substance and its motions are subjects of mathematics, whose truths are known a priori, this clear and distinct understanding of heat is achieved by means of thought alone. Descartes thus concedes the instrumental value of perception in helping us to achieve what is desirable (warming ourselves) and avoid what is undesirable (getting burned), but he denies that this constitutes a reason to take its deliverances more seriously than the clear and distinct ideas of rational intuition. Furthermore, because perception often leads us astray, while the reliability of the intellect’s clear and distinct ideas is safeguarded by the infinite goodness of God, it would be foolhardy to proceed as the naturalist does.

Particularists attempt to avoid the problem of the criterion by identifying a set of basic beliefs whose justification does not depend on our being able to establish the trustworthiness of their sources. It is unable to resist epistemic relativism because those who subscribe to different epistemic systems will identify different sets of basic beliefs . In addition to Sankey’s naturalistic particularism , which privileges empirical facts, there could be theological and rationalist versions of particularism , which privilege Biblical doctrines and a priori insights, respectively. Against such positions, Sankey says:…I imagine that some may continue to insist on the priority of non-empirical considerations even in the face of the attempts to connect epistemic norms with experience. Here, I am afraid, one can only argue in an ad hominem manner by pointing to the pragmatic contradiction that arises from saying one thing while doing another. Someone who looks before crossing the street gives due weight to empirical considerations whatever they may say about non-empirical factors. Their practice belies their claims to the contrary. (Sankey 2014b, 6)

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.