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GAGE-DISSERTATION-2014.Pdf (1.774Mb) ABSTRACT Objectivity and Subjectivity in Epistemology: A Defense of the Phenomenal Conception of Evidence Logan Paul Gage, Ph.D. Committee Chairperson: Trent Dougherty, Ph.D. We all have an intuitive grasp of the concept of evidence. Evidence makes beliefs reasonable, justifies jury verdicts, and helps resolve our disagreements. Yet getting clear about what evidence is is surprisingly difficult. Among other possibilities, evidence might consist in physical objects like a candlestick found at the crime scene, propositions like ‘a candlestick was found at the crime scene,’ or experiences like the experience of witnessing a candlestick at the crime scene. This dissertation is a defense of the latter view. Evidence, we will argue, consists in experiences or mental states called ‘seeming states.’ We begin with a look at why the logical positivists came to abandon the experiential or “phenomenal” conception of evidence and adopted what I call “the courtroom conception.” Despite its appeal, we argue that this latter view is too objective; it has trouble playing the role of subjective reasons-provider. Being more subjective, the phenomenal conception deserves another look. However, many have thought that the phenomenal conception itself is unable to fulfill other important roles of evidence. In Chapter Two we dispute this, arguing that the phenomenal conception can play all four of the chief roles of evidence. Examining the religious epistemology of Alvin Plantinga in Chapter Three we come to see that the phenomenal conception, while attractive, is in danger of being too subjective. If the phenomenal conception of evidence is to be tenable, it must be offered in conjunction with a conservative epistemic principle which tethers together experiences with the beliefs they evidence in an epistemically appropriate manner. Hence in Chapter Four we consider a number of conservative epistemic principles and argue for the superiority of one in particular. But these principles have themselves been subject to criticism. For this reason, in Chapter Five we close by responding to a recent and pressing challenge to conservative principles in epistemology (Michael Bergmann’s dilemma for internalism) which might prevent their deployment alongside the phenomenal conception. If our arguments are correct, the phenomenal conception of evidence is still an attractive account of evidence today. Objectivity and Subjectivity in Epistemology: A Defense of the Phenomenal Conception of Evidence by Logan Paul Gage, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Philosophy ___________________________________ Michael D. Beaty, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee ___________________________________ Trent Dougherty, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Alexander R. Pruss, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Michael D. Beaty, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Jonathan Tran, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School December 2014 ______________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2014 by Logan Paul Gage All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………… v List of Schemes …………………………………………………………………………. vii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………viii Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………………. ix Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………….. xi Chapter One: Introduction: Two Rival Conceptions of Evidence ……………………… 12 Introduction …………………………………………………………...………… 12 The Early Logical Positivist Conception of Evidence ………………………….. 14 The Late Logical Positivist Conception of Evidence …………………………... 17 A First Desideratum …………………………………………………………….. 20 A Preview of Things to Come ………………………………………………….. 21 Chapter Two: Can the Phenomenal Conception Fulfill the Many Roles of Evidence? .. 26 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 26 The Nature of Seeming States ………………………………………………….. 27 The First Role: Evidence as that which Justifies Belief ………………………... 32 The Second Role: Evidence as that which Rational Thinkers Respect ………… 39 The Third Role: Evidence as a Guide to the Truth ……………………………... 42 The Fourth Role: Evidence as Neutral Arbiter …………………………………. 47 Objectivity ……………………………………………………………… 49 Peer Disagreement ……………………………………………………… 51 Publicity ………………………………………………………………… 56 Conclusion: Thinking about the Logical Space ………………………………… 63 Chapter Three: Reforming the Concept of Experience as Evidence: Plantinga and the Phenomenal Conception ………………………………………………………... 66 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 66 Early Plantinga ………………………………………………………………….. 67 The Aquinas/Calvin Model: The Sensus Divinitatis …………………………… 72 The Extended A/C Model: The Inward Instigation of the Holy Spirit …………. 76 Cognitive Faculties vs. Cognitive Processes …………………………………… 82 Reconsidering Experience as Evidence ………………………………………… 96 An Internalist Revision of Plantingian Religious Epistemology ……………… 104 A Second Desideratum ………………………………………………………... 109 v Chapter Four: Conservative Principles in Epistemology: How to Tether Experience and Epistemically Appropriate Belief ……………………………………………… 111 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 111 Epistemic Conservatism Prior to the Twentieth Century ……………………... 112 Doxastic Conservatism ………………………………………………………... 117 Non-Doxastic Conservatism …………………………………………………... 128 Examining Non-Doxastic Conservatism: Toward a Refined Principle ……….. 139 Tying Together Experience and Belief ………………………………………... 149 Chapter Five: Phenomenal Conservatism and the Subject’s Perspective Objection …. 156 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 156 Bergmann’s Dilemma for Internalism ………………………………………… 157 PC to the Rescue? ……………………………………………………………... 164 PC and Bergmann’s Dilemma, Part I: ICPS …………………………………… 166 PC and Bergmann’s Dilemma, Part II: ICPW …………………………………. 170 A Final Worry: The Sociological Nature of Bergmann’s Dilemma …………... 179 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….. 181 Chapter Six: Conclusion: A Defensible Phenomenal Conception of Evidence ………. 182 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………... 188 vi LIST OF SCHEMES Scheme 1. Varieties of Evidence …………………………………..………..…………. 12 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Matrix of Major Conceptions of Evidence …………….…………………….. 65 viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is, of course, the product not only of personal reflection but of innumerable conversations and (friendly) arguments. I am exceedingly grateful to my colleagues at Baylor University for all of their time and thoughtfulness over the years. I am especially grateful to Ross Parker, Scott Cleveland, and Brandon Dahm in this regard. And to Fr. Timothy Vaverek, the Augustine reading group directed by Mike Foley, and members of The Manhattan Project, I simply cannot thank you enough. Your friendship and spiritual support has changed me for the better and will have a lasting impact upon our family. I also wish to express my gratitude to Trent Dougherty for his time and sage advice in the direction of this dissertation. More than a talented philosopher, he is a good father and an exceedingly generous human being. From our very first argument, I knew that he would be both a mentor and a friend. And to the others who sat on my committee and gave of their time—Alex Pruss, Michael Beaty, Frank Beckwith, and Jonathan Tran—thank you so much. Several of the ideas in this dissertation have been presented at professional conferences. I am grateful to all those at the following universities and professional conferences who gave me valuable feedback: Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ave Maria University, The 88th Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society and The Mind Association at Cambridge University, The Philosophy of Religion Study Group of the Tyndale Fellowship at Cambridge University, The 2014 European Epistemology Network Meeting, The 2011 Graduate Epistemology Conference at the University of ix Miami, and the 2013 meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association. I am grateful to the philosophy department at Baylor University—especially Michael Beaty and Marilyn McKinney—and Baylor University Graduate School for generous travel support over the years. But most of all I wish to thank my family for their love and support during this process. My wife Liz has been a wonderful companion on this adventure. To whom can I compare this wonderful mother and faithful friend? She has given me more than support; she has given me three precious boys and two more children in heaven. I wish to thank them all, especially for all the laughter and wild noises in our little apartment provided by Wells Augustine and John Simons. And to my parents (Steve and Holly), my sister and brother-in-law (Megan and Ethan), my in-laws (Jack and Barbara), my brother- and sister-in-law (Jack and Karen), and my grandparents (Paul and Marilyn, and Ken and Mary) thank you for all of your love, prayers, and other support. I hope that I have made you proud. A.M.D.G. x To my father, Steve Gage, with admiration xi CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Rival Conceptions of Evidence Introduction Ask someone what evidence is, and you are likely to hear that evidence consists in such things as the bloody knife used to kill Julius Caesar, the fingerprints found on Sirhan Sirhan’s gun, or the gloves that failed to fit O. J. Simpson’s
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