Optimality Justifications: New Foundations for Epistemology

Author:   Prof Gerhard Schurz (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
ISBN:  

9780198887546


Pages:   336
Publication Date:   08 February 2024
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Our Price $188.95 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Optimality Justifications: New Foundations for Epistemology


Add your own review!

Overview

The leading idea of epistemology in the Enlightenment tradition was foundation-theoretic: to reach knowledge, we must not legitimize our beliefs by external authorities, but instead justify them by rational arguments. Recently, the foundation-theoretic ideal of justification has come under attack, the chief criticism being that universal standards of justification are illusory because the problem of a regress of justification is unsolvable. Alternatives to foundation theory (coherentism, externalism, or dogmatism) have been developed that give up central claims of Enlightenment epistemology such as empirical support, cognitive accessibility, or rational justifiability. Optimality Justifications develops a new account of foundation-theoretic epistemology based on the method of optimality justifications. Optimality justifications offer a solution to the regress problem. Rather than striving for a priori demonstrations of reliability, which are impossible, they show that certain epistemic methods are optimal with regard to all accessible alternatives, which is more modestly but provably possible. In particular, optimality justifications can achieve a non-circular justification of deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning. This volume pursues two goals: a general renewal of foundation-theoretic epistemology based on the account of optimality justifications, and the advancement of methods of optimality justification in important domains of epistemology and the philosophy of science, logic, and cognition. Connected with these goals is the aspiration to develop new ideas for mainstream epistemology, as well as for formal epistemology, philosophy of science, and cognitive science, which are intended to attract researchers, students, and all other readers interested in these fields.

Full Product Details

Author:   Prof Gerhard Schurz (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 24.00cm
Weight:   0.650kg
ISBN:  

9780198887546


ISBN 10:   019888754
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   08 February 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1: Knowledge and Justification 2: Foundation Theory and Its Alternatives: A Critical Discussion 3: Foundation-theoretic Epistemology I: Internalism and Minimal Basis 4: Foundation-theoretic Epistemology II: Conditional Justification and Noncircularity 5: Foundation-theoretic Epistemology III: Optimality Justifications 6: Justification of Inductive Reasoning 7: From Optimal Inductive Methods to Optimal Beliefs 8: Justification of Logics and Conceptual Frameworks 9: Abductive Inference to Theories 10: The Justification of Theory-Generating Abduction 11: Conclusion and Outlook Mathematical Appendix

Reviews

Author Information

Gerhard Schurz is Professor for Philosophy at the University of Düsseldorf, where he previously hed the Chair of Theoretical Philosophy (2002-2022). He was formerly Associate Professor at the University of Salzburg and Visiting Professor at the University of California at Irvine and at Yale University. Gerhard Schurz is the author of ten books and more than 250 research papers in the fields of philosophy of science, epistemology, logic, cognitive science, and metaethics. He was President of the German Association for Philosophy of Science (2016-2022). Since 2019, he is member of the Leopoldina (National Academy of Sciences in Germany) and of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

wl

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List