Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T21:58:43.686Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why Disagreement-Based Skepticism cannot Escape the Challenge of Self-Defeat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2019

Thomas Grundmann Open the ORCID record for Thomas Grundmann [Opens in a new window]
Thomas Grundmann*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Cologne, Albert Magnus Platz, 50923 Köln, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Global meta-philosophical skepticism based upon disagreement faces the problem of self-defeat since it undercuts its motivating conciliatory principle. However, the skeptic may easily escape this threat by adopting extensive meta-philosophical skepticism, i.e. the view that most of our philosophical beliefs are unjustified, except our beliefs in epistemically fundamental principles. As I will argue in this paper, this kind of skepticism still poses a radical challenge to philosophy as a cognitive discipline. Moreover, non-global skepticism that is still extensive undermines itself as well. The deeper reason for this is that this more modest kind of skepticism can only be motivated by the assumption that disagreement with philosophical peers is abundant and that we can identify peers only by relying on track-record arguments. But then one can argue for extensive meta-philosophical skepticism only if one presupposes that those philosophical beliefs that form the basis of track-record evaluations are justified. Here, the threat of self-defeat looms again. I will proceed by first defending the premises of this new anti-skeptical argument against standard objections from the literature. Second, I will show in more detail where the epistemic inconsistency arises in the argument for extensive meta-philosophical skepticism.

Keywords

disagreementepistemic peernessmeta-philosophical skepticismself-defeat
Type
Article
Information
Episteme , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 2021 , pp. 224 - 241
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brennan, J. (2010). ‘Skepticism about Philosophy.’ Ratio 23, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, D. (2007). ‘Epistemology of Disagreement: The Good News.’ Philosophical Review 116, 187–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, D. (2011). ‘Disagreement, Question-Begging and Epistemic Self-Criticism.’ Philosopher's Imprint 11, 1–22.Google Scholar
Christensen, D. (2013). ‘Epistemic Modesty Defended.’ In Christensen, D. and Lackey, J. (eds), The Epistemology of Disagreement: New Essays, pp. 77–97. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Decker, J. (2014). ‘Conciliationism and Self-Incrimination.’ Erkenntnis 79, 1099–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elga, A. (2007). ‘Reflection and Disagreement.’ Noûs 41, 478–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elga, A. (2010). ‘How to Disagree About How to Disagree.’ In Feldman, R. and Warfield, T.A. (eds), Disagreement, pp. 175–87. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, R. (2006). ‘Epistemological Puzzles about Disagreement.’ In Hetherington, S. (ed.), Epistemology Futures, pp. 216–36. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Foley, R. (2003). ‘Three Attempts to Refute Skepticism and Why They Fail.’ In Luper, S. (ed.), The Skeptics: Contemporary Essays, pp. 61–74. Abingdon: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Goldberg, S. (2009). ‘Reliabilism in Philosophy.’ Philosophical Studies 142, 105–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, S. (2013). ‘Disagreement, Defeat, and Assertion.’ In Christensen, D. and Lackey, J. (eds), The Epistemology of Disagreement, pp. 167–89. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, S. (2015). Assertion: On the Philosophical Significance of Assertoric Speech. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Goldman, A. (2001). ‘Experts: Which Ones Should You Trust?’ Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 63, 85–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grundmann, T. (2013). ‘Doubts about Philosophy? The Alleged Challenge from Disagreement.’ In Henning, T. and Schweikard, D. (eds), Knowledge, Virtue, and Action: Putting Epistemic Virtues to Work, pp. 72–98. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kelly, T. (2005). ‘The Epistemic Significance of Disagreement.’ Oxford Studies in Epistemology 1, 167–96.Google Scholar
Kelly, T. (2010). ‘Peer Disagreement and Higher Order Evidence.’ In Feldman, R. and Warfield, T. (eds), Disagreement, pp. 111–74. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, N. (2012). ‘Disagreement: What's the Problem? Or a Good Peer is Hard to Find.’ Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 85, 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kornblith, H. (2010). ‘Believe in the Face of Controversy.’ In Feldman, R. and Warfield, T. (eds), Disagreement, pp. 29–52. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyburg, H. (1961). Probability and the Logic of Rational Belief. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.Google Scholar
Lackey, J. (2010). ‘A Justificationist View of Disagreement's Epistemic Significance.’ In Haddock, A., Millar, A. and Pritchard, D. (eds), Social Epistemology, pp. 298–325. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Machuca, D. (2013). ‘Conciliationism and the Menace of Scepticism.’ Dialogue 54, 469–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrath, S. (2007). ‘Moral Disagreement and Moral Expertise.’ Oxford Studies in Metaethics 4, 87–108.Google Scholar
Pittard, J. (2015). ‘Resolute Conciliationism.’ Philosophical Quarterly 65, 442–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, B. (2011). ‘Philosophy and Disagreement.’ Critica 43, 3–25.Google Scholar
Sidgwick, H. (1907). The Methods of Ethics, 7th edition. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Sosa, E. (2010). ‘The Epistemology of Disagreement.’ In Haddock, A., Millar, A. and Pritchard, D. (eds), Social Epistemology, pp. 278–97. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thune, M. (2010). ‘‘Partial Defeaters’ and the Epistemology of Disagreement.’ Philosophical Quarterly 60, 355–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vavova, K. (2014). ‘Moral Disagreement and Moral Skepticism.’ Philosophical Perspectives 28, 302–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar