Reason Without Freedom

by Owens,David

• ISBN13: 9780415223881
• ISBN10: 0415223881
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-08-11
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

We call beliefs reasonable or unreasonable, justified or unjustified. What does this imply about belief? Does this imply that we are responsible for our beliefs and that we should be blamed for our unreasonable convictions? Or does it imply that we are in control of our beliefs and that what we believe is up to us?Reason Without Freedomargues that the major problems of epistemology have their roots in concerns about our control over and responsibility for belief. Owens focuses on the arguments of Descartes, Locke and Hume--the founders of epistemology--and presents a critical discussion of the current trends in contemporary epistemology. He proposes that the problems we confront today - skepticism, the analysis of knowledge, and debates on epistemic justification can be tackled when we have understood the moral psychology of belief.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: rationality, responsibility and control	1	(6)
PART 1 Belief and reason	7	(68)
Reflection and rationality	9	(14)
Motivating belief	23	(14)
Knowledge and conclusive grounds	37	(16)
Scepticism, certainty and control	53	(22)
Appendix to Part 1: renouncing belief?	71	(4)
PART 2 Freedom and responsibility	75	(56)
Freedom and the will	77	(12)
Locke on freedom	89	(12)
A theory of freedom	101	(14)
The scope of responsibility	115	(16)
PART 3 Memory and testimony	131	(50)
Knowledge and its preservation	133	(14)
The authority of memory	147	(16)
The authority of testimony	163	(18)
Conclusion: epistemology as moral psychology	177	(4)
Notes	181	(10)
Bibliography	191	(6)
Index	197