Warrant in Contemporary Epistemology Essays in Honor of Plantinga's Theory of Knowledge

by Kvanvig, Jonathan L.; Bonjour, Laurence; Conee, Earl; Feldman, Richard; Foley, Richard; Klein, Peter; Kvanvig, Jonathan; Lehrer, Keith; Lycan, William; Markie, Peter; Pappas, George; Plantinga, Alvin; Sosa, Ernest; Swain, Marshall; Fraassen, Bas van

• ISBN13: 9780847681594
• ISBN10: 0847681599
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-07-28
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In his widely influential two-volume work, Warrant: The Current Debate and Warrant and Proper Function, Alvin Plantinga argued that warrant is that which explains the difference between knowledge and true belief. Plantinga not only developed his own account of warrant but also mapped the terrain of epistemology. Motivated by Plantinga's work, fourteen prominent philosophers have written new essays investigating Plantingian warrant and its contribution to contemporary epistemology. The resulting collection, representing a broad array of views, not only gives readers a critical perspective on Plantinga's landmark work, but also provides in one volume a clear statement of the variety of approaches to the nature of warrant within contemporary epistemology, and to the connections between epistemology and metaphysics. Positions covered include internalism and externalism, reliabilism, coherentism and foundationalism, virtue theories, and defensibility theories. Alvin Plantinga responds to the essays in his own contribution.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Part I. Coherentism and Internalism
Plantinga and Coherentisms	3	(22)
William G. Lycan
Proper Function versus Systematic Coherence	25	(22)
Keith Lehrer
Plantinga on Knowledge and Proper Function	47	(26)
Laurence BonJour
Plantinga on Epistemic Internalism	73	(14)
Ernest Sosa
Part II Defeasibility, Knowledge, and the Gettier Problem
Knowledge Is Accurate and Comprehensive Enough True Belief	87	(10)
Richard Foley
Warrant, Proper Function, Reliabilism, and Defeasibility	97	(34)
Peter Klein
Warrant versus Indefeasible Justification	131	(18)
Marshall Swain
Part III. Naturalism
Science, Materialism, and False Consciousness	149	(34)
Bas C. van Fraassen
Plantinga's Naturalism	183	(16)
Earl Conee
Part IV. Warrant, Justification, and Expert Knowledge
Plantinga, Gettier, and Warrant	199	(22)
Richard Feldman
Degrees of Warrant	221	(18)
Peter J. Markie
Experts, Knowledge, and Perception	239	(14)
George S. Pappas
Part V. Virtue Epistemology
Proper Functionalism and Virtue Epistemology	253	(18)
Ernest Sosa
Postscript to ``Proper Functionalism and Virtue Epistemology''	271	(10)
Ernest Sosa
Plantinga's Proper Function Account of Warrant	281	(26)
Jonathan L. Kvanvig
Part VI. Alvin Plantinga Replies
Respondeo	307	(72)
Index	379	(4)
About the Contributors	383