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Epistemology: Classic Problems and Contemporary Responses (Elements of Philosophy) NTS PHY Philosophy | Epistemology BonJour Elements of Philosophy Series Editor: Robert Audi ELEMENTS PHILOSOPHY Praise for the First Edition “Laurence BonJour’s Epistemology is a rich and thorough, historically informed introduction to the traditional core questions of epistemology. Authored by a foremost exponent of the traditional core answers, at the top of his form, it is a lucid defense of internalist, Cartesian foundationalism, one that should be accessible to undergraduates with no background in philosophy.” —Ernest Sosa, Brown University EPISTEMOLOGY “Epistemology is destined to become a classic. BonJour gives the reader a com- prehensive introduction to the fundamental issues of epistemology. In the great tradition of philosophers like Russell and Ayer, BonJour has written a book that Epistemology Classic Problems and will be accessible and compelling to readers of all backgrounds.” —Richard Fumerton, University of Iowa Contemporary Responses “Laurence BonJour’s fine new textbook covers a wide range of topics in contem- Second Edition porary epistemology, using key historical sources to set up the issues. BonJour Second Edition presents the issues and arguments in an accessible and nontechnical manner without sacrificing necessary details. This is an excellent introduction to episte- mology.” —Richard Feldman, University of Rochester Laurence BonJour PHILOSOPHY In Epistemology, Laurence BonJour introduces serious philosophy students to the history and concepts of epistemology, while simultaneously challenging them to take an active part in its ongoing debates. The text reflects BonJour’s conviction that the place to start any discussion of the theories of knowledge is with the classical problems, beginning with and centered around Descartes. Only after the groundwork for understanding epistemology is laid does BonJour ELEMENTS move on to the more contemporary revolutions against the classical approach. Among the updates to the new edition of this highly successful text are questions for thought and discussion for each chapter and a convenient glossary of key terms. BonJour has also made many changes throughout the text to improve clarity and to take account of recent debates. Laurence BonJour is professor of philosophy at the University of Washington in Seattle. LITTLEFIELD ROWMAN & For orders and information please contact the publisher Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 1-800-462-6420 www.rowmanlittlefield.com EpistemologyPODPBK.indd 1 9/23/09 9:36:55 AM Epistemology Elements of Philosophy Series Editor: Robert Audi, University of Nebraska, Lincoln The Elements of Philosophy series aims to produce core introductory texts and readers in the major areas of philosophy, among them metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and moral theory, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, feminist philosophy, and social and political philosophy. Books in the series are written for an undergraduate audience of second-through fourth-year students and serve as the perfect cornerstone for understanding the various elements of philosophy. Editorial Advisory Board William Alston, Syracuse University Lynn Rudder Baker, University of Massachusetts John Deigh, Northwestern University Jorgé Garcia, Rutgers University Philip Kain, Santa Clara University Janet Kourany, University of Notre Dame Hugh McCann, Texas A&M University Alfred Mele, Davidson College Louis Pojman, United States Military Academy Ernest Sosa, Brown University Eleonore Stump, St. Louis University Moral Theory: An Introduction (2002) by Mark Timmons Epistemology, Second Edition (2009) by Laurence BonJour Forthcoming books in the series: Philosophy of the Mind by Louise Antony and Joseph Levine Epistemology Classic Problems and Contemporary Responses Second Edition Laurence BonJour ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2010 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data BonJour, Laurence, 1943– Epistemology : classic problems and contemporary responses / Laurence BonJour. — 2nd ed. p. cm. — (Elements of philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7425-6418-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7425-6419-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-0109-5 (electronic) 1. Knowledge, Theory of. I. Title. BD161.B585 2010 121—dc22 2009031099 ϱ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface vii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Part One The Classical Problems of Epistemology Chapter 2 Descartes’s Epistemology 9 Chapter 3 The Concept of Knowledge 23 Chapter 4 The Problem of Induction 47 Chapter 5 A Priori Justification and Knowledge 71 Chapter 6 Immediate Experience 97 Chapter 7 Knowledge of the External World 119 Chapter 8 Some Further Epistemological Issues: Other Minds, Testimony, and Memory 149 Part Two Contemporary Responses to the Cartesian Program Introduction to Part Two 175 Chapter 9 Foundationalism and Coherentism 177 Chapter 10 Internalism and Externalism 203 v vi Contents Chapter 11 Quine and Naturalized Epistemology 221 Chapter 12 Knowledge and Skepticism 237 Conclusion 257 Questions for Thought and Discussion 261 Notes 273 Glossary 307 Annotated Bibliography 319 Index 325 About the Author 331 Preface This book offers an introduction to epistemology, intended for readers who have some general background and/or aptitude in philosophy, but little if any previous knowledge of epistemology proper. It reflects material that I have used in a junior-level introductory epistemology course, one that is populated largely but not exclusively by philosophy majors. (In my department, there is also a more advanced senior-graduate-level course in epistemology that covers more advanced issues and material.) It is my belief that this book, supplemented by suitable additional readings, would also be suitable as a text for the single upper-division epistemology course that is offered by many departments. The book is in any case not mainly intended as a stand-alone text, but should be supplemented with readings that are appropriate to the level of the course and students. Many of the works that are discussed in the book would make good choices, but there are lots of other possibilities as well. I also hope that the book will be accessible and valuable to those who are not enrolled in formal courses, but who want to gain some idea of what epistemology is all about. The book reflects two deep-seated convictions of mine, one about epis- temology in particular and one about philosophy in general. The first and more important of these is that the place to start in epistemology is with the classical problems approached from the traditional, essentially Cartesian per- spective. Much epistemological discussion and argument in the past century and especially the past four decades or so has in fact consisted in revolutions or attempted revolutions against this traditional approach, and an account vii viii Preface of what I regard the most important of these is offered in Part II of the book. But it seems to me a fundamental mistake to start, as is often done, with the revolutions, offering only a brief and frequently strawmannish indication of what is being revolted against. To do so often has the result of making the whole subject seem rather pointless to the student, since it seems to consist so largely of tearing down views that he or she has not yet developed any inclination to take seriously in the first place. It is primarily for this reason that much more than half of the book is devoted to the traditional problems and dialectic—though I should add that, having once played at least a mod- est role in one of the anti-Cartesian revolts, I have since come to believe also that the Cartesian approach is to be preferred to the more revolutionary alternatives, and that the prospects for its success are much more hopeful than is usually thought. The second, less problematic conviction is that philosophy is essentially dialectical in character, consisting of arguments and responses and further ar- guments and further responses back and forth among the different positions on a given issue. It is this dialectic that I have tried to exhibit, though obvi- ously not completely. It is important for a student who wants to understand this dialectical development to become, to some extent at least, a participant rather than a mere observer. To aid in this, I have tried to indicate points in the discussion where a view or issue has been presented fully enough to make it reasonable for a student to attempt to think about it on his or her own, try- ing to form some independent reaction
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