The Case for Contextualism: Knowledge, Skepticism, and Context, Vol. 1

by Keith DeRose

Overview

It's an obvious enough observation that the standards that govern whether ordinary speakers will say that someone knows something vary with context: What we are happy to call "knowledge" in some ("low-standards") contexts we'll deny is "knowledge" in other ("high-standards") contexts. But do these varying standards for when ordinary speakers will attribute knowledge, and for when they are in some important sense warranted in attributing knowledge, reflect varying standards for when it is or would be true for them to attribute knowledge? Or are the standards that govern whether such claims are true always the same? And what are the implications for epistemology if these truth-conditions for knowledge claims shift with context? Contextualism is the view that the epistemic standards a subject must meet, in order for a claim attributing "knowledge" to her to be true, do vary with context. This has been hotly debated in epistemology and philosophy of language during the last few decades. In The Case for Contextualism Keith DeRose offers a sustained state-of-the-art exposition and defense of the contextualist position, presenting and advancing the most powerful arguments in favor of the view and against its "invariantist" rivals, and responding to the most pressing objections facing contextualism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199692255
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/24/2011
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Keith DeRose is Allison Foundation Professor of Philosophy at Yale University.

Table of Contents

1. Contextualism, Invariantism, Skepticism, and What Goes On in Ordinary Conversation2. The Ordinary Language Basis for Contextualism3. Assertion, Knowledge, and Context4. Single Scoreboard Semantics5. "Bamboozled by Our Own Words": Semantic Blindness and Some Objections to Contextualism6. Now You Know It, Now You Don't: Intellectualism, Contextualism, and Subject-Sensitive Invariantism7. Knowledge, Assertion and Action: Contextualism vs. Subject-Sensitive InvariantismReferences

Editorial Reviews

"Keith DeRose, one of the prominent originators of the contextualist approach to knowledge.... DeRose's strategy here is novel and bold.... The strategy is worthy of further recognition and consideration.... the primary value I find in this book lies in the way that it clarifies and unifies DeRose's previous work. This volume will be of particular benefit to graduate students and researchers looking to gain initial sympathetic familiarity with contextualism; it is also clear and accessible enough to be suitable for advanced undergraduates. This book will be among the first resources I turn to when students ask for an introduction to 'knows' contextualism."—Jonathan Ichikawa, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher