Contemporary debates on skepticism
Jan
Palkoska
The course is intended as an introduction into
contemporary discussions concerning epistemological variants of skepticism. We
will focus predominantly on the so-called Cartesian skeptical argument against
perceptual knowledge of the external world and consider some leading proposals
by contemporary Anglo-American thinkers in response to the challenge.
The course will take the form of a lecture
accompanied by course readings. Active participation in discussion, solid
attendance and a short essay are required to complete the course successfully.
Reading list:
Brueckner, A., „Why Nozick is a
Sceptic“, Mind 93 (1984): 259-264.
Brueckner, A., „Knowledge of
Content and Knowledge of the World“, The Philosophical Review 103
(1994): 327-343.
Brueckner, A., „The Structure of
the Skeptical Argument“, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 54
(1994): 827-835.
De Rose, K., „Solving the Skeptical
Problem“, The Philosophical Review 104 (1995): 1-52.
Dretschke, F., „Epistemic
Operators“, Journal of Philosophy 67 (1970): 1007-1023.
Feldman, R., „Contextualism and
Skepticism“, Philosophical Perspectives 13 (1999): 91-114.
Johnsen, B.C., „On the Coherence of
Pyrrhonian Skepticism“, The Philosophical Review 110 (2001): 521-561.
Nozick, R., Philosophical
Explanations, Oxford 1981: Ch. 3.
Putnam, H., Reason, Truth and
History, New York 1981: Ch. 1.
Sosa, E., „Philosophical Skepticism
and Epistemic Circularity“, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society,
Suppl. Vol. LXIV (1994): 263-290.
Sosa, E., „Reflective Knowledge in
the Best Circles“, The Journal of Philosophy 94 (1997): 410-430.
Sosa, E., „How to Defeat Opposition
to Moore“, Philosophical Perspectives 13 (1999): 141-154.
Stroud, B., The Significance of
Philosophical Scepticism, New York 1984: Ch. 1.
Stroud, B., „Scepticism,
,Externalism‘, and the Goal of Epistemology“, Proceedings of the
Aristotelian Society, Suppl. Vol. LXIV (1994): 291-307.
Vogel, J., „The New Relevant
Alternatives Theory“, Philosophical Perspectives 13 (1999): 155-180.