Abstract
That by far the greater part of the enormous mass of one’s belief and knowledge is acquired from what others tell is regarded by many philosophers as an obvious truth. A main epistemological problem, then, is to explain how one can acquire second-hand knowledge from others. To put the problem in this way, however, is to make many kinds of assumptions — metaphysical, epistemological, psychological. For example, subjective idealists who do not admit the existence of others,1 or those who find the claim that others have minds totally unjustified, cannot formulate this problem at all. There are many other metaphysical assumptions behind this formulation of the problem about the nature of what one can possibly say or hear. The nature of the problem and its solution depend also upon the conception of knowledge, the nature of testimony, and other epistemological notions, such as competence of the speaker, trust of the hearer etc. Then there are psychological assumptions for explaining why the speaker should speak the truth. The motive might be to help the hearer to obtain knowledge out of compassion, and so on.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.