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Author ORCID Identifier
N/A
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Philosophy
Year Degree Awarded
2016
Month Degree Awarded
May
First Advisor
Hilary Kornblith
Second Advisor
Christopher Meacham
Third Advisor
Ernesto Garcia
Fourth Advisor
Seth Cable
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Epistemology | Philosophy
Abstract
Ever since John Locke, philosophers have discussed the possibility of a normative epistemology: are there epistemic obligations binding the cognitive economy of belief and disbelief? Locke's influential answer was evidentialist: we have an epistemic obligation to believe in accordance with our evidence. In this dissertation, I place the contemporary literature on agency and reasons at the service of some such normative epistemology. I discuss the semantics of obligations, the connection between obligations and reasons to believe, the implausibility of Lockean evidentialism, and some of the alleged connections between agency and justification.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/8401943.0
Recommended Citation
Oliveira, Luis R.G., "Agency and Reasons in Epistemology" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 677.
https://doi.org/10.7275/8401943.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/677