Abstract
Among coherence theories of epistemic justification, Keith Lehrer’s version is second to none in its originality, detail, and precision. It is, without a doubt, the most refined coherence theory in circulation. In this paper I ask whether Lehrer’s coherentism withstands the familiar isolation objection to epistemic coherentism. Part 1 outlines Lehrer’s coherentism in its most recent garb. Part 2 states the isolation objection to coherentism without relying on the troublesome metaphor of “cutting off” empirical justification from the world. And Part 3 argues that Lehrer’s coherentism falls prey to the isolation objection because of a deficiency shared by all versions of epistemic coherentism.1
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Moser, P.K. (1989). Lehrer’s Coherentism and the Isolation Objection. In: Bender, J.W. (eds) The Current State of the Coherence Theory. Philosophical Studies Series, vol 44. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2360-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2360-7_3
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