Epistemology : an introduction to the theory of knowledge / Nicholas Rescher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rescher, Nicholas.

Series:

SUNY series in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Knowledge, Theory of.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (425 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A comprehensive introduction to the theory of knowledge.

Contents:

Intro

Epistemology

Contents

PREFACE

Introduction

Part I: Knowledge and Its Problems

1. Modes of Knowledge

IS KNOWLEDGE TRUE JUSTIFIED BELIEF?

MODES OF (PROPOSITIONAL) KNOWLEDGE

OTHER BASIC PRINCIPLES

2. Fallibilism and Truth Estimation

PROBLEMS OF METAKNOWLEDGE

THE PREFACE PARADOX

THE DIALLELUS

AN APORY AND ITS RECONCILIATION: K-DESTABILIZATION

COSTS AND BENEFITS

MORE ON FALLIBILISM

THE COMPARATIVE FRAGILITY OF SCIENCE: SCIENTIFIC CLAIMS AS MERE ESTIMATES

FALLIBILISM AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN OUR (PUTATIVE) TRUTH AND THE REAL TRUTH

3. Skepticism and Its Deficits

THE SKEPTICS "NO CERTAINTY" ARGUMENT

THE ROLE OF CERTAINTY

THE CERTAINTY OF LOGIC VERSUS THE CERTAINLY OF LIFE

PRAGMATIC INCONSISTENCY

SKEPTICISM AND RISK

RATIONALITY AND COGNITIVE RISK

THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION: COSTS AND BENEFITS

THE DEFICIENCY OF SKEPTICISM

4. Epistemic Justification in a Functionalistic and Naturalistic Perspective

EXPERIENCE AND FACT

PROBLEMS OF COMMON-CAUSE EPISTEMOLOGY

MODES OF JUSTIFICATION

THE EVOLUTIONARY ASPECT OF SENSORY EPISTEMOLOGY

RATIONAL VERSUS NATURAL SELECTION

AGAINST "PURE" INTELLECTUALISM

THE PROBLEM OF ERROR

CONCLUSION

5. Plausibility and Presumption

THE NEED FOR PRESUMPTIONS

THE ROLE OF PRESUMPTION

PLAUSIBILITY AND PRESUMPTION

PRESUMPTION AND PROBABILITY

PRESUMPTION AND SKEPTICISM

HOW PRESUMPTION WORKS: WHAT JUSTIFIES PRESUMPTIONS

6. Trust and Cooperation in Pragmatic Perspective

THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF SHARING AND COOPERATING IN INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT

THE ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATION

BUILDING UP TRUST: AN ECONOMIC APPROACH

TRUST AND PRESUMPTION

A COMMUNITY OF INQUIRERS

Part II: Rational Inquiry and the Quest for Truth

7. Foundationalism versus Coherentism.

HIERARCHICAL SYSTEMIZATION: THE EUCLIDEAN MODEL OF KNOWLEDGE

CYCLIC SYSTEMATIZATION: THE NETWORK- AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE EUCLIDEAN MODEL

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN FOUNDATIONALISM AND COHERENTISM

PROBLEMS OF FOUNDATIONALISM

8. The Pursuit of Truth: Coherentist Criteriology

THE COHERENTIST APPROACH TO INQUIRY

THE CENTRAL ROLE OF DATA FOR A COHERENTIST TRUTH-CRITERIOLOGY

ON VALIDATING THE COHERENCE APPROACH

IDEAL COHERENCE

TRUTH AS AN IDEALIZATION

9. Cognitive Relativism and Contextualism

COGNITIVE REALISM

WHAT'SWRONG WITH RELATIVISM

THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CONTEXTUALISM OF REASON

A FOOTHOLD OF ONE'S OWN: THE PRIMACY OF OUR OWN POSITION

THE ARBITRAMENT OF EXPERIENCE

AGAINST RELATIVISM

CONTEXTUALISTIC PLURALISM IS COMPATIBLE WITH COMMITMENT ON PURSUING "THE TRUTH"

THE ACHILLES' HEEL OF RELATIVISM

10. The Pragmatic Rationale of Cognitive Objectivity

OBJECTIVITY AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL UNIVERSALITY OF REASON

THE BASIS OF OBJECTIVITY

THE PROBLEM OF VALIDATING OBJECTIVITY

WHAT IS RIGHT WITH OBJECTIVISM

ABANDONING OBJECTIVITY IS PRAGMATICALLY SELF-DEFEATING

11. Rationality

STAGE-SETTING FOR THE PROBLEM

OPTIMUM-INSTABILITY

IDEAL VERSUS PRACTICAL RATIONALITY: THE PREDICAMENT OF REASON

THE PROBLEM OF VALIDATING RATIONALITY

THE PRAGMATIC TURN: EVEN COGNITIVE RATIONALITY HAS A PRAGMATIC RATIONALE

ALTERNATIVE MODES OF RATIONALITY?

THE SELF-RELIANCE OF RATIONALITY IS NOT VICIOUSLY CIRCULAR

Part III: Cognitive Progress

12. Scientific Progress

THE EXPLORATION MODEL OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

THE DEMAND FOR DATA ENHANCEMENT

TECHNOLOGICAL ESCALATION: AN ARMS RACE AGAINST NATURE

THEORIZING AS INDUCTIVE PROJECTION

LATER NEED NOT BE LESSER

COGNITIVE COPERNICANISM

THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS

13. The Law of Logarithmic Returns and the Complexification of Natural Science.

THE PRINCIPLE OF LEAST EFFORT AND THE METHODOLOGICAL STATUS OF SIMPLICITY-PREFERENCE IN SCIENCE

COMPLEXIFICATION

THE EXPANSION OF SCIENCE

THE LAW OF LOGARITHMIC RETURNS

THE RATIONALE AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE LAW OF LOGARITHMIC RETURNS

THE GROWTH OF KNOWLEDGE

THE DECELERATION OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

PREDICTIVE IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION/KNOWLEDGE RELATIONSHIP

THE CENTRALITY OF QUALITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

14. The Imperfectability of Knowledge (Knowledge as Boundless)

CONDITIONS OF PERFECTED SCIENCE

THEORETICAL ADEQUACY: ISSUES OF EROTETIC COMPLETENESS

PRAGMATIC COMPLETENESS

PREDICTIVE COMPLETENESS

TEMPORAL FINALITY

"PERFECTED SCIENCE" AS AN IDEALIZATION THAT AFFORDS A USEFUL CONTRAST CONCEPTION

THE DISPENSABILITY OF PERFECTION

Part IV: Cognitive Limits and the Quest for Truth

15. The Rational Intelligibility of Nature

EXPLAINING THE POSSIBILITY OF NATURAL SCIENCE

"OUR" SIDE

NATURE'S SIDE

SYNTHESIS

IMPLICATIONS

16. Human Science as Characteristically Human

THE POTENTIAL DIVERSITY OF "SCIENCE"

THE ONE WORLD, ONE SCIENCE ARGUMENT

A QUANTITATIVE PERSPECTIVE

COMPARABILITY AND JUDGMENTS OF RELATIVE ADVANCEMENT OR BACKWARDNESS

BASIC PRINCIPLES

17. On Ignorance, Insolubilia, and the Limits of Knowledge

CONCRETE VERSUS GENERIC KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE

EROTETIC INCAPACITY

DIVINE VERSUS MUNDANE KNOWLEDGE

ISSUES OF TEMPORALIZED KNOWLEDGE

KANT'S PRINCIPLE OF QUESTION EXFOLIATION

COGNITIVE INCAPACITY

INSOLUBILIA THEN AND NOW

COGNITIVE LIMITS

IDENTIFYING INSOLUBILIA

RELATING KNOWLEDGE TO IGNORANCE

POSTSCRIPT: A COGNITIVELY INDETERMINATE UNIVERSE

18. Cognitive Realism

EXISTENCE

HOMO MENSURA?

REALISM AND INCAPACITY

THE COGNITIVE OPACITY OF REAL THINGS

THE COGNITIVE INEXHAUSTIBILITY OF THINGS

THE CORRIGIBILITY OF CONCEPTIONS.

COGNITIVE PROGRESS

COGNITIVE DYNAMICS

CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF REALISM AS A POSTULATE

HIDDEN DEPTHS: THE IMPETUS TO REALISM

THE PRAGMATIC FOUNDATION OF REALISM AS A BASIS FOR COMMUNICATION AND DISCOURSE

THE IDEALISTIC ASPECT OF METAPHYSICAL REALISM

SCIENCE AND REALITY

Notes

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

Index of Names

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Z.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 369-401) and index.

ISBN:

9780791486375

0791486370

9781417537723

1417537728

OCLC:

61367812