“When we speak of ordinary unqualified knowledge, my thought is that we are implicitly relativizing to the standards imposed by our evolution-derived humanity. These are standards that determine when we consider it appropriate to store beliefs just as a human being, rather than in one's capacity as an expert of one or another sort. Such stored beliefs are to be available for later use in one's own thought or in testimony to others.” HumansUseHumanityBeliefSpeakHuman BeingsEvolutionStandardsOrdinaryCapacityDetermineAvailableStoresExpertsAppropriateMy ThoughtsTestimonyUnqualified Author:Ernest Sosa
“We need some standard that will determine how likely a belief is to be true given just that it is stored in one of us, including strangers that one can ask for directions, and with whom one might collaborate.” NeedsMightAsksBeliefGivenStandardsIncludingDetermineStrangerBeing True Author:Ernest Sosa
“Normal adults can doodle, amble, and drift with no need to assess risk, since there is normally no risk at all. Jazz improvisation seems less subject to standards of risk than surgery, and less than much formal athletic performance, as in a tennis match.” NeedsSeemsRiskSubjectsNormalStandardsAdultsPerformancesJazzTennisFormalSurgeryAthleticImprovisationJazz ImprovisationAthletic Performance 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
“One does not avoid incompetence if one makes an attempt whose likelihood of success is too low. This seems little more than analytic: when the performance is in a domain that imposes standards of risk, attempts may or may not meet such standards. And the relevant competence of agents then includes reliably enough meeting those standards.” IfsMayLittlesDoeEnoughSeemsRiskLowsStandardsPerformancesMeetingsAgentsRelevantDomainCompetenceIncompetenceLikelihoodAnalytics Author:Ernest Sosa
