Epistemic Defeat: A Treatment of Defeat as an Independent Phenomenon

By Jan Constantin

A number of well-developed theories shed light on the question, under what circumstances our beliefs enjoy epistemic justification. Yet, comparatively little is known about epistemic defeat--when new information causes the loss of epistemic justification. This book proposes and defends a detailed account of epistemic defeaters. The main kinds of defeaters are analyzed in detail and integrated into a general framework that aims to explain how beliefs lose justification. It is argued that defeaters introduce incompatibilities into a noetic system and thereby prompt a structured re-evaluation process that makes a justified reinstatement of the defeated belief impossible. The account is then applied to the topic of disagreement, where it is used in an argument for conciliationism, as well as a new explanation for higher-order defeat. Throughout the book, the notion of defeat is the center of attention, while a number of new issues are discussed at the intersections of defeat and justification. Specifically, new problems are raised for broadly internalist accounts of defeat, a fully descriptive reliabilist account of defeat is provided, and the case for normative defeat is revisited.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 311126999X
• ISBN13: 9783111269993
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: de Gruyter
• Length: 297 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary