“In my view there is a level of human knowledge that involves just getting it right aptly. This "animal" epistemic level is an inferior level in just the way of Diana's long shot in the dark while drunk. That shot is inferior in a certain respect if too poorly selected as a hunter's archery shot, even if not quite as poorly selected as would be a shot aimed at the moon. Even if Diana's too risky shot turns out to be apt by attaining success through sublime archery dexterity, it is still inferior in the particular respect of being so risky and hence so poorly selected.” IfsWayHumansLongStillsWould BeCertainTurnsDarkAnimalLevelsViewsParticularMoonShotsDrunkInferiorsSublimeHuntersSelectedDianaHuman KnowledgeArcheryDexterityLong Shots Author:Ernest Sosa
“Attempts are found in domains of human performance, such as sports, games, artistic domains, professional domains like medicine and the law, and so on. These feature distinctive aims, and corresponding competences. Archery, with its distinctive arrows and targets, divides into subdomains. Thus, competitive archery differs importantly from archery hunting.” HumansLawFoundGamesSportsPerformancesAimMedicineArtisticFeaturesTargetDividesHuntingDomainCompetenceArrowsDistinctiveCorrespondingArchery Author:Ernest Sosa
“In competitive archery, risk assessment has minimal bearing on quality of performance, since the archer has so little choice over shot selection. By contrast, in a hunt, shots vary in quality according to how well selected they may be.” WellsMayLittlesChoicesQualityRiskShotsPerformancesContrastSelectionHuntsVarySelectedAssessmentArcherArchery Author:Ernest Sosa
“The success of an archery shot may bring food to the hunter's starving family, or may constitute a horrible murder. But these outcomes are irrelevant to the assessment of that shot as a hunter-archery shot, as an attempt to hit prey without running excessive risk of failure.” MayRunningRiskShotsMurderHorribleOutcomesIrrelevantHuntersPreyStarvingAssessmentArchery Author:Ernest Sosa
“If a shot aimed at aptness succeeds aptly, it is then fully apt, since it is not only apt but also aptly apt. But the full aptness of such an attempt is entirely compatible with its being a horrible murder, if the "hunter" is an assassin and the prey his victim. That hunter's shot may still be outstandingly, fully apt, if it manifests the agent's competence in both archery dexterity and shot selection.” IfsMayStillsSucceedShotsMurderVictimHorribleAgentsHuntersSelectionPreyCompetenceAssassinsCompatibleArcheryDexterity Author:Ernest Sosa
“A hunter archer can also be out to shock by taking crazy shots. What makes his shots "crazy" is set by excessive risk, judged by hunting-archery standards, which would tend to draw agreement from knowledgeable observers.” RiskCrazyDrawsStandardsShotsShockAgreementJudgedHuntingHuntersObserversKnowledgeableArcherArchery Author:Ernest Sosa
