Abstract
When considering the last fifty years of epistemology in the analytical tradition — filled with far-fetched thought experiments involving evil demons, reliable clairvoyants and disguised mules — it is easy to forget that there is an important sense in which epistemology is an utterly practical discipline. Indeed, according to a long-standing tradition, one of epistemology’s main missions is to provide hands-on advice, aiding the epistemic inquirer in her pursuits. Thus understood, epistemology is not only normative, in the sense that it concerns itself with specifically epistemic goods — goods like true belief, knowledge, understanding and so on — but also ameliorative, in that it attempts to say something constructive about how our chances of actually attaining the relevant goods may be increased.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ahlstrom-Vij, K. (2013). Introduction. In: Epistemic Paternalism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137313171_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137313171_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-34511-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-31317-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Religion & Philosophy CollectionPhilosophy and Religion (R0)