Description
Book SynopsisPhilosophy long sought to set knowledge on a firm foundation, through derivation of indubitable truths by infallible rules. This work argues for a reconception that takes reflective equilibrium as the standard of rational acceptability. It contends that metaphor, fiction, and exemplification often advance understanding in science and in art.
Trade Review"Elgin has managed an eloquent argument for a contextual epistemology that is relative and relational without being relativistic... This work is likely to be widely read and debated. Her philosophical voice is an example of well-reasoned and eloquent debate."--Word Trade
Table of ContentsPrefaceCh. IEpistemology's End3Quarry3Perfect Procedural Epistemology6Imperfect Procedural Epistemology10Pure Procedural Epistemology15Approach20Ch. IIThe Failure of Foundationalism21Requirements21Blueprint24Strict Strictures30Lower Standards35Meaning40Causality47Subjunctive Support51Collapse57Ch. IIIKnowledge by Consensus60The Social Construction of Knowledge60Games People Play61Playing for Real66The Inquiry Game70Puzzle Solving74Widening the Field79Diverging Paths84Normalizing Relations88Does Charity End at Home?91Summing Up93What We Do96Two Concepts of Rules98Ch. IVThe Merits of Equilibrium101Initial Tenability101Reflective Equilibrium106Going Public111Bootstrapping120Change in Focus: From Knowledge to Understanding122The Growth of Understanding129Judgment Calls134Deeper Conflicts138Restrictions on Relativism143Ch. VThe Heart Has Its Reasons146Feelings147Frames of Mind149Tenability156Emotional Honesty159Classification161Emotion and the Range of Epistemology167Ch. VIShifting Focus170Telling Instances171Learning from Examples178Fiction in Fact183Fiction's Feedback186What We Learn about What We Know189Getting Perspective192Tenable Fictions195Figurative Functions196Reconfiguration200Summing Up204Ch. VIIEpistemic Interdependence205Verstehen205Language208Indeterminacy214Index221
