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Quote by Ernest Sosa

“A successful account enables us to understand human knowledge in general.”

Quote by Ernest Sosa

Author

Ernest Sosa is a renowned philosopher, born on June 17, 1940. His research focuses on metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy. more

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“In arriving at the relevant theory about the specifics of our faculty of vision we will presumably use our eyes to gather relevant data. Based on such data we come to know about the optic nerve, the structure of our eyes, the rods and cones, etc., so as to explain how it is that vision gives us reliable access to the shapes and colors of objects around us. In reliably arriving at that theory we thus exercise the very faculty whose reliability is explained by the theory. There is no vice in this sort of circularity.”

Knows Giving Use Eye Vision Objects Color Theory Exercise Shapes Structure Vices Access Data Etc Faculty Nerves Relevant Arriving Reliability Cones Specifics Circularity

Author:Ernest Sosa

“Suppose we wonder whether we should trust the deliverances of our basic epistemic competences. If those are indeed our basic competences, then in order properly to satisfy our curiosity we will inevitably rely on one or more of them. So, either we squelch our curiosity or we will have to fall into the circularity or regress to which the skeptic objects.”

Ifs Should Order Fall Wonder Objects Curiosity Rely Competence Skeptic Deliverance Circularity

Author:Ernest Sosa

“There is no need for the scientist to go into whether an observation was made, nor into the who, what, when, or where. The data on which scientific theorizing is based are rather the propositional contents of the instrument readings recorded, or the facts detected thereby.”

Needs Made Facts Reading Scientist Instruments Observation Data

Author:Ernest Sosa

“Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of the a priori.”

Needs Use Happens Concepts Philosopher Intuition Epistemology

Author:Ernest Sosa

“Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various specific sorts: ethical, metaphysical, etc., depending on their targeted subject matter. And they must make intuition reports, as they record the contents of their intuitions. But they need not go into whether an intuition has been enjoyed.”

Needs Has Beens Matter Records Subjects Philosopher Various Intuition Enjoyed Reports Etc Ethical Metaphysical Subject Matter

Author:Ernest Sosa

“The data on which philosophical theorizing is based are rather the intuited contents themselves, concerning the various thought experiments. At least that is so outside the epistemology of the a priori.”

Philosophical Various Experiments Data Epistemology

Author:Ernest Sosa

“When there are conflicts of observation, when experiments cannot be replicated, scientists may then retreat to a study of the various specific observations so as to explain the conflict, in the course of which they would make use of the concept of observation, or of some specification of that concept.”

May Use Courses Study Conflict Concepts Scientist Various Experiments Observation Retreat Specifications

Author:Ernest Sosa

“The concept of intuition is more often used in philosophical theorizing than is the concept of observation in scientific theorizing (proportionately). One reason is that there is (proportionately) more ostensible conflict of philosophical intuitions than there is ostensible conflict of scientific observations. So much for the use of a concept of intuition in philosophical theorizing.”

Reason Use Used Conflict Concepts Philosophical Intuition Observation

Author:Ernest Sosa

“Intuitive seeming is in my view an attraction to assent based on nothing more than understanding of the content that upon consideration attracts one's assent. But such understanding-based attraction can differ dramatically in epistemic quality. Some such attractions represent nothing more than superstition or bias absorbed from the culture, sans ratiocination.”

Culture Understanding Views Quality Attraction Consideration Superstitions Bias Intuitive Seeming

Author:Ernest Sosa

“If we have a better understanding of knowledge than we do of such justification or competence, then we can explain the latter through the former.”

Ifs Understanding Former Latter Justification Competence

Author:Ernest Sosa