Bootstrapping and Defeasible Reasoning October 11, 2009

Theoretical Philosophy Forum

Stewart Cohen (Department of Philosophy, University of Arizona):

Bootstrapping and Defeasible Reasoning

Certain popular epistemological views about the structure of reasons seem to be subject to a bootstrapping problem. I examine how this problem arises and argue that certain commitments built into the nature of defeasible reasoning afford a solution. The solution comes with a cost, but I argue that virtually every theory of reasons has to pay this cost.

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