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3Knowledge and the Elimination of TruthPhilosophie Et Culture: Actes du XVIIe Congrès Mondial de Philosophie 2 849-853. 1988.
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107Essays on a Priori Knowledge and Justification: EssaysOup Usa. 2012.The past twenty-five years have seen a major renewal of interest in the topic of a priori knowledge. In the sixteen essays collected here, which span this entire period, philosopher Albert Casullo documents the complex set of issues motivating the renewed interest, identifies the central epistemological questions, and provides the leading ideas of a unified response to them.
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50Uncovering buried treasure: Henderson and Horgan on conceptual analysisPhilosophical Studies 169 (3): 509-523. 2014.David Henderson and Terry Horgan offer a detailed account of the structure of conceptual analysis that is embedded within a more general account of a priori justification. Their account highlights an important feature of conceptual analysis that has been overlooked in the recent debate. Although it is generally recognized that conceptual analysis involves an inference from premises to the effect that some concept does (or does not) apply to a range of particular cases to a general conclusion abo…Read more
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85Causality, reliabilism, and mathematical knowledgePhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 52 (3): 557-584. 1992.
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66Response to my critics: Chris Pincock, Lisa Warenski and Jonathan WeinbergPhilosophical Studies 173 (6): 1705-1720. 2016.This is my response to the papers by Chris Pincock, Lisa Warenski and Jonathan Weinberg, which were presented at the Book Symposium on my Essays on A Priori Knowledge and Justification, American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meetings, March 16–19, 2014
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84Particulars, substrata, and the identity of indiscerniblesPhilosophy of Science 49 (4): 591-603. 1982.This paper examines the view that ordinary particulars are complexes of universals. Russell's attempt to develop such a theory is articulated and defended against some common misinterpretations and unfounded criticisms in Section I. The next two sections address an argument which is standardly cited as the primary problem confronting the theory: (1) it is committed to the necessary truth of the principle of the identity of indiscernibles; (2) the principle is not necessarily true. It is argued i…Read more
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65Necessity, Certainty, and the A PrioriCanadian Journal of Philosophy 18 (1): 43-66. 1988.Empiricist theories of knowledge are attractive for they offer the prospect of a unitary theory of knowledge based on relatively well understood physiological and cognitive processes. Mathematical knowledge, however, has been a traditional stumbling block for such theories. There are three primary features of mathematical knowledge which have led epistemologists to the conclusion that it cannot be accommodated within an empiricist framework: 1) mathematical propositions appear to be immune from …Read more
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97Is Empiricism Coherent?The Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 5 61-74. 2000.In recent years empiricism has come under attack. Some argue that the view is incoherent and conclude, on that basis, that some knowledge is a priori. Whatever the merits of such arguments against empiricism, they cannot be parlayed into an argument in support of the a priori unless the latter is not open to those arguments. My primary contention is that the a priori is open to the arguments offered against empiricism. Hence, they do not advance the case for the a priori. I go on to offer an alt…Read more
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87Experience and a priori justification (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 63 (3). 2001.Laurence BonJour’s In Defense of Pure Reason is rich and challenging. It offers a tightly integrated attack on empiricism and defense of rationalism. The tight texture of argument makes it difficult to isolate and assess specific aspects of the book in a brief discussion. My goal is to examine the role of experience in BonJour’s conception of a priori justification.
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606The Coherence of EmpiricismPacific Philosophical Quarterly 81 (1): 31-48. 2000.Rationalists often argue that empiricism is incoherent and conclude, on that basis, that some knowledge is a priori. I contend that such arguments against empiricism cannot be parlayed into an argument in support of the a priori since rationalism is open to the same arguments. I go on to offer an alternative strategy. The leading idea is that, instead of offering a priori arguments against empiricism, rationalists should marshal empirical support for their position.
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95Counterfactuals and Modal KnowledgeIn Essays on a Priori Knowledge and Justification, Oup Usa. pp. 251-270. 2014.Timothy Williamson offers a reductive account of modal knowledge in terms of knowledge of counterfactual conditionals. The account is developed in a broader context of defending two more general theses regarding the subject matter and methodology of philosophy. My primary focus in this paper is Williamson’s account of modal knowledge. I argue (1) that his account of modal knowledge does not support his more general theses regarding the subject matter and methodology of philosophy; (2) that the t…Read more
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38Analyticity and the A PrioriCanadian Journal of Philosophy, Supplementary Volume 18 (sup1): 113-150. 1992.The analytic/synthetic distinction has played a central role in discussions of a priori knowledge throughout the twentieth century. One of the primary reasons for the prominence of this distinction is the widespread influence of the tradition of logical empiricism which endorsed the following principles: All analytic propositions are knowable a prioriand All propositions knowable a priori are analytic.Hence, proponents of the a priori often argue in support of the contention that the proposition…Read more
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141Pollock and Sturgeon on defeatersSynthese 195 (7): 2897-2906. 2018.Scott Sturgeon has recently challenged Pollock’s account of undercutting defeaters. The challenge involves three primary contentions: the account is both too strong and too weak, undercutting defeaters exercise their power to defeat only in conjunction with higher-order beliefs about the basis of the lower-order beliefs whose justification they target, and since rebutting defeaters exercise their power to defeat in isolation, rebutting and undercutting defeaters work in fundamentally different w…Read more
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155Kripke on the a priori and the necessaryIn Paul K. Moser (ed.), Analysis, Oxford University Press. 1987.
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282Four challenges to the a priori—a posteriori distinctionSynthese 192 (9): 2701-2724. 2015.During the past decade a new twist in the debate regarding the a priori has unfolded. A number of prominent epistemologists have challenged the coherence or importance of the a priori—a posteriori distinction or, alternatively, of the concept of a priori knowledge. My focus in this paper is on these new challenges to the a priori. My goals are to provide a framework for organizing the challenges, articulate and assess a range of the challenges, and present two challenges of my own
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11Causality, Reliabilism, and Mathematical KnowledgePhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 52 (3): 557-584. 1992.
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171Testimony and A Priori KnowledgeEpisteme: A Journal of Social Epistemology 4 (3): 322-334. 2007.Tyler Burge offers a theory of testimony that allows for the possibility of both testimonial a priori warrant and testimonial a priori knowledge. I uncover a tension in his account of the relationship between the two, and locate its source in the analogy that Burge draws between testimonial warrant and preservative memory. I contend that this analogy should be rejected, and offer a revision of Burge's theory that eliminates the tension. I conclude by assessing the impact of the revised theory on…Read more
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315A Priori JustificationOxford University Press USA. 2003.The major divide in contemporary epistemology is between those who embrace and those who reject a priori knowledge. Albert Casullo provides a systematic treatment of the primary epistemological issues associated with the controversy. By freeing the a priori from traditional assumptions about the nature of knowledge and justification, he offers a novel approach to resolving these issues which assigns a prominent role to empirical evidence. He concludes by arguing that traditional approaches to th…Read more
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264Perceptual space is monadicPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 50 (September): 131-134. 1989.
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31Analyticity, Apriority, ModalityIn Manuel García-Carpintero & Max Kölbel (eds.), The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Language, Continuum International. pp. 228. 2012.
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598Intuition, Thought Experiments, and the A PrioriIn Essays on a Priori Knowledge and Justification, Oup Usa. pp. 233-250. 2014.My purpose in this paper is to examine the role of intuition in conceptual analysis and to assess whether that role can be parlayed into a plausible defense of a priori knowledge. The focus of my investigation is George Bealer’s attempt to provide such a defense. I argue that Bealer’s account of intuition and its evidential status faces three problems. I go on to examine the two primary arguments that Bealer offers against empiricism: the Starting Points Argument and the Argument from Epistemic …Read more
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36Experience and A Priori JustificationPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 63 (3): 665-671. 2001.Laurence BonJour’s In Defense of Pure Reason is rich and challenging. It offers a tightly integrated attack on empiricism and defense of rationalism. The tight texture of argument makes it difficult to isolate and assess specific aspects of the book in a brief discussion. My goal is to examine the role of experience in BonJour’s conception of a priori justification.
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246The definition of a priori knowledgePhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 38 (2): 220-224. 1977.
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3Conceivability and possibilityRatio (Misc.) 17 (1): 118-121. 1975.The purpose of this article is to defend Hume's claim that whatever is conceivable is possible from a criticism by William Kneale. Kneale argues that although a mathematician can conceive of the falsehood of the Goldbach conjecture, he does not conclude that it is not necessarily true. The author suggests that by taking into account Hume's distinction between intuitive and demonstrative knowledge, a revised version of his claim can be offered which is not open to Kneale's criticism.
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114Revisability, reliabilism, and a priori knowledgePhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 49 (2): 187-213. 1988.
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271Annotated Bibliography on A Priori KnowledgeIn Essays on a Priori Knowledge and Justification, Oup Usa. pp. 329-339. 2014.A selective annotated bibliography of recent literature on a priori knowledge.
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Metaphysics |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Metaphysics |