Cognitive Science Program

A brown bag is a one hour, generally (though not exclusively) intra-departmental colloquium, starting with a twenty to twenty five minute talk by a faculty member or graduate student, filled from there to the end with lively questions and answers.

A brown bag is a one hour, generally (though not exclusively) intra-departmental colloquium, starting with a twenty to twenty five minute talk by a faculty member or graduate student, filled from there to the end with lively questions and answers.

Title: Inquiry and Higher-Order Evidence

Abstract:                                                                                                                                                                                    What is the epistemic significance of higher-order evidence? Recently, philosophers have defended zetetic approaches to higher-order evidence, which appeal to factors related to inquiry and deliberation. According to these views, in response to higher-order evidence – for example, when you find out that an epistemic peer or superior disagrees with you concerning the answer to a question – you should open inquiry and deliberate upon the question further. While it can often be productive to deliberate or to double-check one’s reasoning when confronted with higher-order evidence, I argue that zetetic accounts are bound to be incomplete. They are unable to explain a range of important cases. Reflecting on these cases helps to make vivid a broader lesson concerning the relationship between inquiry and epistemic normativity. Epistemology never requires us to perform specific actions, such as evidence gathering, deliberation, or double-checking, even when these acts are required to settle the answers to our questions.

A brown bag is a one hour, generally (though not exclusively) intra-departmental colloquium, starting with a twenty to twenty five minute talk by a faculty member or graduate student, filled from there to the end with lively questions and answers.