Positive Epistemology

Edited by Jonathan Ichikawa, forthcoming with Routledge

Whether to believe something is often an important question. It can be intellectually important, as in the pursuit of pure knowledge; it can also be morally and politically important, when it implicates questions about whom to trust and what to do. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that focuses on normative questions about belief. One of its central projects — perhaps its most central project — is the theoretical illumination of normative questions what one should believe, and what one shouldn’t believe.

It can be natural to frame that pair of questions together: when should one believe, and when should one not believe? In fact, however, much epistemology focuses much more on the negative: don’t believe unreliable sources, don’t believe on insufficient evidence, etc.

There is comparatively less discussion of positive epistemology. Positive epistemology is about the cases (if any) in which one should or must believe. While negative epistemology focuses on the possible error of believing too much, positive epistemology considers the possible error of believing too little; or equivalently, the possible error of mistaken suspension of judgment.

Positive Epistemology, edited by Jonathan Ichikawa, will commission twelve new philosophical essays exploring the (putative) positive side of epistemology The volume is currently under contract with Routledge. Following is the outline of the volume.

Introduction to Positive Epistemology, Jonathan Ichikawa

Part I   Positive Epistemic Norms

Chapter 1        Dialectical Intrepidity, Genia Schönbaumsfeld

Chapter 2        Epistemic Norms and the Obligation to Combat Ignorance, Elís Miller

Chapter 3        Normative ‘Oomph’ and Functional Epistemic Oughts, Christoph Kelp and Mona Simion

Part II  On Belief

Chapter 4        Why Settle?, Sophia Dandelet

Chapter 5        The Doxastic Basis of Epistemic Asymmetry, Mark Schroeder

Chapter 6                     Practical Requirements to Believe, Susanna Rinard

Part III Practical Reason and Positive Epistemology

Chapter 7        The Groom and the Addict: Does Committing to Difficult Endeavours Require Belief Against the Evidence?, Georgi Gardiner

Chapter 8        When Should We Believe What We May Believe? On Positivism and Epistemic Norms, Clayton Littlejohn and Stephen Finlay

Chapter 9        Doubt and the Status Quo, Jonathan Ichikawa

Part IV Ethics, Politics, and Positive Epistemology

Chapter 10      Deference to Burke, Neil Levy

Chapter 11      On Chum and Chumps, Matt Weiner

Chapter 12      Liberty of Conscience and Doxastic Harm, Allan Hazlett