•  18
    This is a terrific tome. Packed with interesting insights and supported with extensive research, this book has tremendous potential to shape certain aspects of Hume studies. In light of such potential, it is not surprising that the earlier hardback edition earned the 2008 Journal of the History of Philosophy History of Philosophy Book Prize. Why is this book so important? Quite simply, this is one of the best contextualist studies of Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature ever written. To elaborate a…Read more
  •  96
    Skeptics without borders
    with Ted Poston
    American Philosophical Quarterly 47 (3): 223. 2010.
    Timothy Williamson’s anti luminosity argument has received considerable attention. Escaping unnoticed, though, is a strikingly similar argument from David Hume. This paper highlights some of the arresting parallels between Williamson’s reasoning and Hume’s that will allow us to appreciate more deeply the plausibility of Williamson’s reasoning and to understand how, following Hume, we can extend this reasoning to undermine the “luminosity” of simple necessary truths. More broadly the parallels he…Read more
  •  4
    Was David Hume radically sceptical about our attempts to understand the world or was he merely approaching philosophical problems from a scientific perspective? Most philosophers today believe that Hume's outlook was more scientific than radically sceptical and that his scepticism was more limited than previously supposed. If these philosophers are correct, then Hume's approach to philosophy mirrors the approach of many contemporary philosophers. This similarity between Hume and many aspects of …Read more
  •  11
    Is There Any Virtue in Offsetting?
    Ethics, Policy and Environment 25 (3): 258-260. 2022.
    Do we have a strong reason to offset even if offsetting is morally inefficient? Some philosophers – such as John Broome – argue that justice-based climate duties require us to contribute money to o...
  •  15
    Abilism Ascendant?
    Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology 26 (2). 2022.
    John Turri has recently called for a major shift in how the vast majority of philosophers think of knowledge. Instead of maintaining that knowledge must proceed from reliable processes, he urges epistemologists to move toward an “abilist” view that allows knowledge to proceed from abilities that are not truth-conducive. More strongly, he claims to have provided conclusive reasons for abandoning the idea that knowledge requires reliability. In this paper I explain why Turri has failed to make the…Read more
  •  36
    After Certainty: A History of Our Epistemic Ideals and Illusions, by PasnauRobert. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. 384.
  •  11
    Environmental Trolley Problems and Ethical Assumptions in the Geoengineering Debate
    Ethics, Policy and Environment 21 (2): 178-180. 2018.
    Stephen Gardiner and Augustin Fragnière offer a thorough critique of the Oxford Principles meant to govern geoenegineering in their paper ‘The tollgate principles for the governance...
  •  18
    Genetic Integrity and the Very Idea of a Prima Facie Duty
    Ethics, Policy and Environment 18 (3): 256-258. 2015.
    In this essay, I call into question Yasha Rohwer and Emma Marris’s attack on what they see as a dominant view in conservation biology: namely, that there is a prima facie moral duty to preserve gen...
  • Knowledge and Norms: A Defense of Epistemic Justification
    Dissertation, University of Notre Dame. 1998.
    In this dissertation, I defend the thesis that epistemic justification is necessary for knowledge and also provide a deontological theory about the nature of epistemic justification. To hone my own deontological account of epistemic justification, I look at various examples and arguments designed to show that one can have knowledge even if one has violated certain epistemic norms or duties. Particularly, I examine some prominent examples from William Alston and Alvin Plantinga. I conclude that t…Read more
  •  12
    Faith with Reason (review)
    International Philosophical Quarterly 42 (1): 126-128. 2002.
  •  14
    The Evidential Argument from Evil (review)
    Faith and Philosophy 15 (1): 117-123. 1998.
  •  48
    William Alston's epistemology of religious experience
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 35 (2). 1994.
  •  34
    Knowledge from gossip?
    Philosophia 27 (3-4): 537-539. 1999.
  •  65
    Although David Hume is no match for Immanuel Kant in terms of opaque writing, his overall philosophy is not without interpretive difficulties. Earlier this century, many philosophers read Hume as the precursor to logical positivism. Of course, the concluding words of his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding added fuel to these flames; but with the downfall of positivism, this reading of Hume has virtually disappeared. Today, interpretations of Hume fall into two main camps: the naturalistic ca…Read more
  •  39
    Ethics and Epistemology in Hume
    The European Legacy 18 (4): 457-466. 2013.
    This essay addresses the relationship between Hume’s moral theory and his epistemological project. More specifically, it focuses on one particular aspect of the relationship between Hume’s moral theory and his general scepticism with regard to reason. Several philosophers, such as David Owen and Annette Baier, have suggested that Hume’s moral theory provides significant support for his appeal to reason/reasoning. To uncover some of the main obstacles that any future attempts to rest Humean reaso…Read more
  •  37
    Was Hume a proper functionalist?
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 72 (1). 2006.
    Nicholas Wolterstorff has claimed that David Hume hinted at a proper functionalist account that anticipates the epistemology of Alvin Plantinga. In this paper, I shall argue that we should refrain from attributing a proper functionalist epistemology to Hume. I shall first raise doubts as to how one could fit a notion of proper functioning into Hume's descriptive project. Next, I shall argue that adopting a proper functionalist epistemology would undermine some of Hume's most famous claims about …Read more
  •  103
    Pluralism, exclusivism, and the theoretical virtues
    Religious Studies 42 (2): 193-206. 2006.
    This paper argues that John Hick's commitment to the moral principle of altruism undermines his pluralistic claim that all of the major world religions are equally efficacious from a soteriological perspective. This argument is placed in a context of a discussion evaluating the theoretical virtues of various hypotheses about religious diversity. (Published Online April 7 2006).
  •  32
    Hume's Iterative Probability Argument: A Pernicious Reductio
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 38 (2): 221-238. 2000.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 38.2 (2000) 221-238 [Access article in PDF] Hume's Iterative Probability Argument: A Pernicious Reductio Kevin Meeker University of South Alabama In this essay I want to look afresh at David Hume's iterative probability argument, found in the section entitled "Of Scepticism with regard to Reason" in his A Treatise of Human Nature.1 Interestingly enough, after years of comparative neglect,2 this ar…Read more
  •  37
    Hume's iterative probability argument: A pernicious
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 38 (2): 221-238. 2000.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 38.2 (2000) 221-238 [Access article in PDF] Hume's Iterative Probability Argument: A Pernicious Reductio Kevin Meeker University of South Alabama In this essay I want to look afresh at David Hume's iterative probability argument, found in the section entitled "Of Scepticism with regard to Reason" in his A Treatise of Human Nature.1 Interestingly enough, after years of comparative neglect,2 this ar…Read more
  •  18
    Should We Abandon Epistemic Justification?
    Southwest Philosophy Review 13 (1): 129-136. 1997.
  •  57
    Justification and the social nature of knowledge
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 69 (1). 2004.
    In this paper I shall closely examine some of Gilbert Harman's cases that purport to show that one can have a justified true belief that does not constitute knowledge because of the social environment. I shall provide an account of these cases that helps us not only understand why the people in these situations lack knowledge, but also why philosophers have a difficult time evaluating these cases. More specifically, I shall argue that in these cases we should conclude that the cognizers lack jus…Read more
  •  18
  •  3
    Was Hume a Proper Functionalist?
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 72 (1): 120-136. 2006.
    Nicholas Wolterstorff has claimed that David Hume hinted at a proper functionalist account that anticipates the epistemology of Alvin Plantinga. In this paper, I shall argue that we should refrain from attributing a proper functionalist epistemology to Hume. I shall first raise doubts as to how one could fit a notion of proper functioning into Hume's descriptive project. Next, I shall argue that adopting a proper functionalist epistemology would undermine some of Hume's most famous claims about …Read more
  •  124
    Quine on Hume and the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
    Philosophia 39 (2): 369-373. 2011.
    W. V. O. Quine’s assault on the analytic/synthetic distinction is one of the most celebrated events in the history of twentieth century philosophy. This paper shines a light on Quine’s own understanding of the history of this distinction. More specifically, this paper argues, contrary to what seems to be the received view, that Quine explicitly recognized a kindred subversive spirit in David Hume
  •  125
    This paper contends that the first argument of Hume's "Of scepticism with regard to reason" entails that humans have no knowledge as Hume understands knowledge. In defending this claim, we also see how Hume's argument anticipates an important aspect of an extremely influential 20th century development: the collapse of the analytic/synthetic distinction.
  •  70
    Review: Epistemic Luck (review)
    Mind 116 (464): 1159-1162. 2007.
  •  30
    Truth, Justification, and the Epistemic Way
    Journal of Philosophical Research 28 287-310. 2003.
  •  12
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Reflection and the Stability of Belief: Essays on Descartes, Hume, and Reid by Louis E. LoebKevin MeekerLouis E. Loeb. Reflection and the Stability of Belief: Essays on Descartes, Hume, and Reid. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. xvii + 369. ISBN: 978-0-19-536876-5, Cloth, $99.00. ISBN 978-0-19-536875-8, Paper, $45.00.This book is (almost entirely) a collection of previously published essays by Louis Loeb. The …Read more