Overview
Phenomenal Conservatism (the view that an appearance that things are a particular way gives one prima facie justification for believing that they are that way) is a promising, and popular, internalist theory of epistemic justification. Despite its popularity, it faces numerous objections and challenges. For instance, epistemologists have argued that Phenomenal Conservatism is incompatible with Bayesianism, is afflicted by bootstrapping and cognitive penetration problems, does not guarantee that epistemic justification is a stable property, does not provide an account of defeat, and is not a complete theory of epistemic justification. This book shows that Phenomenal Conservatism is immune to some of these problems, but not all. Accordingly, it explores the prospects of integrating Phenomenal Conservatism with Explanationism (the view that epistemic justification is a matter of explanatory relations between one's evidence and propositions supported by that evidence). The resulting theory, Phenomenal Explanationism, has advantages over Phenomenal Conservatism and Explanationism taken on their own. Phenomenal Explanationism is a highly unified, comprehensive internalist theory of epistemic justification that delivers on the promises of Phenomenal Conservatism while avoiding its pitfalls.
Full Product Details
Author: Kevin McCain (Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama at Birmingham) ,
Luca Moretti (Reader of Philosophy, Reader of Philosophy, University of Aberdeen)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.00cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 24.00cm
Weight: 0.442kg
ISBN: 9780192896872
ISBN 10: 0192896873
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 03 December 2021
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
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Reviews
A compelling and comprehensive account of the nature and epistemic role of appearances. Highly recommended. * Declan Smithies, Ohio State University * In this carefully argued book, McCain and Moretti present an attractive theory with rich resources for tackling not only the problems besetting phenomenal conservatism but epistemology more broadly, from the problem of how immediate justification is possible to the perennial challenge of how to reply to the skeptic. It is a 'must read' for anyone working in epistemology. * Matthew McGrath, Washington University in St. Louis *
Author Information
Kevin McCain is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His primary research areas are epistemology and philosophy of science. Luca Moretti is Reader of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. His research areas include general epistemology, social epistemology, philosophy of education, and philosophical logic.
