Scepticism, Knowledge, and Forms of Reasoning

175 Pages·2005·7.177 MB·English

by  John Koethe

SCEPTICISM, KNOWLEDGE,
AND FORMS OF REASONING
Also by John Koethe
Philosophy
The Continuity ofWittgenstein's Thought
Poetry
Blue Vents
Domes
The Late Wisconsin Spring
Falling Water
The Constructor
North Point North: New and Selected Poems
Sally's Hair
Criticism
Poetry at One Remove: Essays
Scepticism, Knowledge,
and Forms of Reasoning
JOHN KOETHE
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright© 2005 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing
from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press,
Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2005 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Koethe, John.
Scepticism, knowledge, and forms of reasoning I John Koethe.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-o-8014-4432-6 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: o-8014-4432-2 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Skepticism. 2. Knowledge, Theory of. 3· Epistemics. 4· Reasoning.
I. Title.
B837.K66 2005
121-dc22
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Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my son,
fohn Robert

CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1. Sceptical Arguments and the
Transmission Principle 10
1. Dreaming-type Arguments 11
2. Some Other Sceptical Arguments 14
3· An Alternative Reconstruction of Dreaming-type Arguments 18
4· Sceptical Arguments as Schematic 2 5
CHAPTER 2. Knowledge and Possibility 29
1. The Evolution of Epistemic Possibility 30
2. Some Accounts of Epistemic Possibility 32
3· Knowledge 37
4· Knowledge and Possibility as Duals 41
5· Knowledge and Mental States 43
6. Social Dimensions of Knowledge 46
7· Some Vagaries of the First Person 48
8. Sceptical Arguments Revisited 50
CHAPTER 3· The Status of the Sceptic's Premises 53
1. The Seductiveness of Sceptical Hypotheses 54
2. Moore's Response 57
3· A Possible Wittgensteinian Response 61
vii
4· A Coherentist Response 66
5· The Contextualist Response 69
CHAPTER 4· Epistemological Realism 79
I. Epistemological Realism and Sceptical Arguments So
2. The Communicative Role of Epistemic Terms 84
3· A Semantics for Knowledge and Possibility 9I
Appendix: Realism and the Scope of Knowledge 96
CHAPTER 5· The Status of the Transmission Principle 104
1. Principles and Practice I05
2. A Direct Case for the Validity of the Transmission Principle Io8
3· Explaining Knowledge by Deduction 112
4· Restricting the Transmission Principle 118
Appendix: Hawthorne on Knowledge and Lotteries I23
CHAPTER 6. Sceptical Arguments and Forms of Reasoning 130
I. Sceptical Arguments as Anomalous I3I
2. Conditions Conducive to the Anomaly 139
3· Moral Luck and Freedom I43
4· Agreement and Generality I 52
Index I59
viii Contents