Episteme
- Episteme / Volume 6 / Issue 03 / October 2009, pp 313-323
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/E1742360009000732 (About DOI), Published online: 03 January 2012
Research Article
Peerage
Earl Conee
ABSTRACT
Experts take sides in standing scholarly disagreements. They rely on the epistemic reasons favorable to their side to justify their position. It is argued here that no position actually has an overall balance of undefeated reasons in its favor. Candidates for such reasons include the objective strength of the rational support for one side, the special force of details in the case for one side, and a summary impression of truth. All such factors fail to justify any position.
Earl Conee is a professor of philosophy at the University of Rochester. His research is mainly in epistemology and ethics. His publications include Evidentialism: Essays in Epistemology (with Richard Feldman) and Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics (with Ted Sider).
