Epistemology (Princeton Foundations of Contemporary Philosophy Book 14) by Ernest Sosa (PDF)

Description

One of the world’s leading epistemologists provides a sophisticated, revisionist introduction to the subjectIn this concise book, one of the world’s leading epistemologists provides a sophisticated, revisionist introduction to the problem of knowledge in Western philosophy. Modern and contemporary accounts of epistemology tend to focus on limited questions of knowledge and skepticism, such as how we can know the external world, other minds, the past through memory, the future through induction, or the world’s depth and structure through inference. This book steps back for a better view of the more general issues posed by the ancient Greek Pyrrhonists. Returning to and illuminating this older, broader epistemological tradition, Ernest Sosa develops an original account of the subject, giving it substance not with Cartesian theology but with science and common sense.Descartes is a part of this ancient tradition, but he goes beyond it by considering not just whether knowledge is possible at all but also how we can properly attain it. In Cartesian epistemology, Sosa finds a virtue-theoretic account, one that he extends beyond the Cartesian context. Once epistemology is viewed in this light, many of its problems can be solved or fall away.The result is an important reevaluation of epistemology that will be essential reading for students and teachers.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Been firm about what we know when it is test against another points of view is what makes knowledge unique.

⭐I gave up about one-third into the book. These sentences finally did it for me: “While affirming in the endeavor to affirm aptly, he might fail to affirm aptly in that endeavor. In other word, his alethic affirmation, aimed at truth, might be apt without being fully apt, in which case his judgment will not be apt.” This book may work for professional and would-be philosophers, but to those of us not in the academy it asks too much.

⭐This book is just like all the other Princeton books, logical, appropriate in selection, and clear. It sure covers a lot of work.

⭐Smart

⭐it’s my own fault i guess; i assumed wrongly that this was going to be more of a review or general overview of epistemology.it is most definitely NOT. it is a technical handling of a specific revisionist evaluation of epistemology and even a fairly savvy reader of philosophical texts will be lost immediately.do not buy unless you have a quite extensive ‘a priori’ fund of knowledge in epistemology (see what i did there?)

⭐That’s perfect.

⭐The book I received has a upside down cover and is printed right to left.

⭐I gave this book one star for the same reason I have given most of the Princeton Foundations et al books one star, they are not what they claim to be. They are not introductory or even summary books of the book topic which in this case is epistemology. The writer Sosa is an advocate of virtue epistemology and this book is an argument in support of this conceptualization of epistemology. Unless one is experienced in the concepts and conceptualization of the millennia old contemplation of epistemology, a reader will get a very distorted view of it from this book if they get any understanding or knowledge of it at all. The beginning portion in which Sosa tries to summarize Descartes’ “Meditations” is especially sad. The “Meditations” is one of the finest examples of the art of philosophical writing whose clear and distinct contemplations while difficult are accessible to any honest reader with a genuine desire to learn, they do not need Sosa or anyone to explain them — especially when the explanation is an obvious attempt (obvious to anyone with some background in epistemology) to distort them into what the writer wants epistemology to be. (Personally, I disagree with the concepts of virtue epistemology which is another product of the post-modern need to make everything a question of ethics which I find very dangerous because ethics is hidden religion. Sosa criticizes Descartes for resorting to theology as a justification for his epistemology but in the end Sosa does the same thing only disguises it — which is much worse. This disagreement obviously clouds my judgment of the book, but as the book is supposed to be an introduction or summary of the topic, this clouding is the book’s own fault.)

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