Author Description
Knowledge and its Limits presents a systematic new conception of knowledge as a fundamental kind of mental stage sensitive to the knower's environment. It makes a major contribution to the debate between externalist and internalist philosophies of mind, and breaks radically with the epistemological tradition of analysing knowledge in terms of true belief. The theory casts light on a wide variety of philosophical issues: the problem of scepticism, the nature of evidence, probability and assertion, the dispute between realism and anti-realism and the paradox of the surprise examination. Williamson relates the new conception to structural limits on knowledge which imply that what can be known never exhausts what is true. The arguments are illustrated by rigorous models based on epistemic logic and probability theory. The result is a new way of doing epistemology for the twenty-first-century.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the core question of whether knowledge can be analyzed as a fundamental mental state rather than a composite of true belief. Timothy Williamson, a prominent analytic philosopher, utilizes formal logic and probability theory to argue that knowledge is an unanalyzable, primitive state that is sensitive to the knower's environment. By rejecting the traditional epistemological project of breaking knowledge down into constituent parts, he establishes a framework that addresses long-standing problems in philosophy, including skepticism and the nature of evidence.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A systematic defense of knowledge as a fundamental mental state
- Formal models utilizing epistemic logic and probability theory
- Analysis of the relationship between knowledge, evidence, and assertion
- Re-evaluation of the realism versus anti-realism debate
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a general introduction to epistemology for lay readers
- It does not cover historical surveys of epistemology beyond the specific traditions being challenged
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this text as a foundational contribution to contemporary analytic epistemology that shifted the focus of the field toward externalist perspectives. Readers frequently note the high level of academic density and the requirement for a strong background in formal logic to fully grasp the arguments presented.
Page Count:
356
Publication Date:
2000-01-01
ISBN-10:
0191520241
ISBN-13:
9780191520242
Philosophy
Logic
Philosophy of
Epistemology
Knowledge Theory
Academic