Oxford Handbook of Skepticism

by John Greco

Overview

In the history of philosophical thought, few themes loom as large as skepticism. Skepticism has been the most visible and important part of debates about knowledge. Skepticism at its most basic questions our cognitive achievements, challenges our ability to obtain reliable knowledge; casting doubt on our attempts to seek and understand the truth about everything from ethics, to other minds, religious belief, and even the underlying structure of matter and reality. Since Descartes, the defense of knowledge against skepticism has been one of the primary tasks not just of epistemology but philosophy itself.

The Oxford Handbook of Skepticism features twenty-six newly commissioned chapters by top figures in the field. Part One contains articles explaining important kinds of skeptical reasoning. Part Two focuses on responses to skeptical arguments. Part Three concentrates on important contemporary issues revolving around skepticism. As the first volume of its kind, the articles make significant contributions to the debate on skepticism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195183214
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	09/22/2008
Series:	Oxford Handbooks Series
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

John Greco is Professor and Leonard and Elizabeth Eslick Chair in Philosophy, Saint Louis University

Table of Contents

Introduction, John Greco
Part I. Varieties of Skepticism and Skeptical Arguments
1. The Pyrrhonian Problematic, Markus Lammenranta
2. The Problem of the Criterion, Richard Fumerton
3. Cartesian Skepticism: Arguments and Antecedents, José Luis Bermúdez
4. Hume's Skepticism, Michael Williams
5. Skepticism about the External World, John Greco
6. Skepticism about Induction, Ruth Weintraub
7. Skepticism about A Priori Justification: Self-evidence, Defeasibility, and Cogito Propositions, Robert Audi
8. Moral Realism, Quasi-Realism and Skepticism, Terence Cuneo
9. Religious Skepticism, Paul K. Moser
10. Live Skeptical Hypotheses, Bryan Frances
Part II. Responses to Skepticism
11. Berkeley's Treatment of Skepticism, George Pappas
12. Kant's Response to Skepticism, Robert Stern
13. Reid's Response to Skepticism, James Van Cleve
14. Peirce and Skepticism, Christopher Hookway
15. Moore's Common Sense Response, Noah Lemos
16. Austin's Way with Skepticism, Mark Kaplan
17. Wittgentein on Certainty, Marie McGinn
18. Relativism as a Response to Skepticism, Peter J. Graham
Part III. Contemporary Issues
19. Ascriber Contextualism, Stewart Cohen
20. Sensitivity, Safety, and Anti-Luck Epistemology, Duncan Pritchard
21. Closure and Alternative Possibilities, Jonathan Kvanvig
22. Contemporary Responses to the Regress Argument, Peter Klein
23. Externalist Responses to Skepticism, Michael Bergmann
24. Internalist Responses to Skepticism, Jonathan Vogel
25. Virtue-theoretic Responses to Skepticism, Guy Axtell
26. Disjunctivism and Skepticism, Alan Miller