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Contents
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v Contents Preface xi Introduction xiii KNOWLEDGE AND ITS PROBLEMS Chapter 1: Modes of Knowledge 3 IS KNOWLEDGE TRUE JUSTIFIED BELIEF? 3 MODES OF (PROPOSITIONAL) KNOWLEDGE 7 OTHER BASIC PRINCIPLES 10 Chapter 2: Fallibilism and Truth Estimation 15 PROBLEMS OF METAKNOWLEDGE 15 THE PREFACE PARADOX 19 THE DIALLELUS 22 AN APORY AND ITS RECONCILIATION: K-DESTABILIZATION 23 COSTS AND BENEFITS 26 MORE ON FALLIBILISM 27 THE COMPARATIVE FRAGILITY OF SCIENCE: SCIENTIFIC CLAIMS AS MERE ESTIMATES 29 FALLIBILISM AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN OUR (PUTATIVE) TRUTH AND THE REAL TRUTH 34 Chapter 3: Skepticism and Its Deficits 37 THE SKEPTIC’S “NO CERTAINTY” ARGUMENT 37 THE ROLE OF CERTAINTY 39 THE CERTAINTY OF LOGIC VERSUS THE CERTAINTY OF LIFE 41 PRAGMATIC INCONSISTENCY 42 SKEPTICISM AND RISK 45 RATIONALITY AND COGNITIVE RISK 49 THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION: COSTS AND BENEFITS 53 THE DEFICIENCY OF SKEPTICISM 56 Chapter 4: Epistemic Justification in a Functionalistic and Naturalistic Perspective 61 EXPERIENCE AND FACT 61 PROBLEMS OF COMMON-CAUSE EPISTEMOLOGY 62 MODES OF JUSTIFICATION 64 THE EVOLUTIONARY ASPECT OF SENSORY EPISTEMOLOGY 68 RATIONAL VERSUS NATURAL SELECTION 69 AGAINST “PURE” INTELLECTUALISM 74 THE PROBLEM OF ERROR 76 CONCLUSION 78 Chapter 5: Plausibility and Presumption 81 THE NEED FOR PRESUMPTIONS 81 THE ROLE OF PRESUMPTION 85 PLAUSIBILITY AND PRESUMPTION 87 PRESUMPTION AND PROBABILITY 90 PRESUMPTION AND SKEPTICISM 92 HOW PRESUMPTION WORKS: WHAT JUSTIFIES PRESUMPTIONS 96 Chapter 6: Trust and Cooperation in Pragmatic Perspective 101 THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF SHARING AND COOPERATING IN INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT 101 THE ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATION 103 BUILDING UP TRUST: AN ECONOMIC APPROACH 104 TRUST AND PRESUMPTION 106 A COMMUNITY OF INQUIRERS 108 RATIONAL INQUIRY AND THE QUEST FOR TRUTH Chapter 7: Foundationalism and Coherentism 113 HIERARCHICAL SYSTEMIZATION: THE EUCLIDEAN MODEL OF KNOWLEDGE 113 CYCLIC SYSTEMIZATION: THE NETWORK MODEL— AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE EUCLIDEAN MODEL 118 vi Contents [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:47 GMT) THE CONTRAST BETWEEN FOUNDATIONALISM AND COHERENTISM 123 PROBLEMS OF FOUNDATIONALISM 128 Chapter 8: The Pursuit of Truth: Coherentist Criteriology 131 THE COHERENTIST APPROACH TO INQUIRY 131 THE CENTRAL ROLE OF DATA FOR A COHERENTIST TRUTH-CRITERIOLOGY 135 ON VALIDATING THE COHERENCE APPROACH 139 IDEAL COHERENCE 145 TRUTH AS AN IDEALIZATION 147 Chapter 9: Cognitive Relativism and Contexualism 151 COGNITIVE REALISM 151 WHAT’S WRONG WITH RELATIVISM 153 THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CONTEXTUALISM OF REASON 155 A FOOTHOLD OF ONE’S OWN: THE PRIMACY OF OUR OWN POSITION 159 THE ARBITRAMENT OF EXPERIENCE 161 AGAINST RELATIVISM 165 CONTEXTUALISTIC PLURALISM IS COMPATIBLE WITH COMMITMENT ON PURSUING “THE TRUTH” 168 THE ACHILLES’ HEEL OF RELATIVISM 170 Chapter 10: The Pragmatic Rationale of Cognitive Objectivity 173 OBJECTIVITY AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL UNIVERSITY OF REASON 173 THE BASIS OF OBJECTIVITY 175 THE PROBLEM OF VALIDATING OBJECTIVITY 177 WHAT IS RIGHT WITH OBJECTIVISM 180 ABANDONING OBJECTIVITY IS PRAGMATICALLY SELF-DEFEATING 182 Chapter 11: Rationality 187 STAGE-SETTING FOR THE PROBLEM 187 OPTIMUM-INSTABILITY 188 IDEAL VERSUS PRACTICAL RATIONALITY: THE PREDICAMENT OF REASON 190 THE PROBLEM OF VALIDATING RATIONALITY 193 THE PRAGMATIC TURN: EVEN COGNITIVE RATIONALITY HAS A PRAGMATIC RATIONALE 196 Contents vii ALTERNATIVE MODES OF RATIONALITY? 198 THE SELF-RELIANCE OF RATIONALITY IS NOT VICIOUSLY CIRCULAR 203 COGNITIVE PROGRESS Chapter 12: Scientific Progress 209 THE EXPLORATION MODEL OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY 210 THE DEMAND FOR ENHANCEMENT 211 TECHNOLOGICAL ESCALATION: AN ARMS RACE AGAINST NATURE 212 THEORIZING AS INDUCTIVE PROJECTION 215 LATER NEED NOT BE LESSER 217 COGNITIVE COPERNICANISM 221 THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS 223 Chapter 13: The Law of Logarithmic Returns and the Complexification of Natural Science 229 THE PRINCIPLE OF LEAST EFFORT AND THE METHODOLOGICAL STATUS OF SIMPLICITY-PREFERENCE IN SCIENCE 230 COMPLEXIFICATION 234 THE EXPANSION OF SCIENCE 239 THE LAW OF LOGARITHMIC RETURNS 240 THE RATIONALE AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE LAW OF LOGARITHMIC RETURNS 245 THE GROWTH OF KNOWLEDGE 248 THE DECELERATION OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS 251 PREDICTIVE IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION/ KNOWLEDGE RELATIONSHIP 253 THE CENTRALITY OF QUALITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS 254 Chapter 14: The Imperfectability of Knowledge: Knowledge as Boundless 257 CONDITIONS OF PERFECTED SCIENCE 257 THEORETICAL ADEQUACY: ISSUES OF EROTETIC COMPLETENESS 259 PRAGMATIC COMPLETENESS 262 PREDICTIVE COMPLETENESS 264 TEMPORAL FINALITY 267 viii Contents [54.205.116.187] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:47 GMT) “PERFECTED SCIENCE” AS AN IDEALIZATION THAT AFFORDS A USEFUL CONTRAST CONCEPTION 271 THE DISPENSABILITY OF PERFECTION 273 COGNITIVE LIMITS AND THE QUEST FOR TRUTH Chapter 15: The Rational Intelligibility of Nature 279 EXPLAINING THE POSSIBILITY OF NATURAL SCIENCE 279 “OUR” SIDE 282 NATURE’S SIDE 284 SYNTHESIS 287 IMPLICATIONS 289 Chapter 16: Human Science as Characteristically...