22 Août Connaissance de base et Principes du sens commun
Starting from the consideration of the «principle of the criterion», according to which «knowledge of the reliability of our intellectual faculties is required to have any knowledge», the paper shows how the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid helps us to escape the dead-end into which we are classically supposed to fall if we stick to this principle. Briefly, either we endorse a strict interpretation of this principle, but then we must admit that it is impossible to know anything, or we take on a loose interpretation of the principle, but we face the accusation of allowing an explosion of non-valuable knowledge. The paper argues that Reid’s remarks about the first principles of common sense invite us to formulate an adjusted version of the principle of the criterion, and as a consequence are the appropriate place for a renewed discussion about skepticism and externalism.
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