It is bad to want something that not even God could attain, especially when the impossibility becomes obvious. Ernest Sosa More Quotes by Ernest Sosa More Quotes From Ernest Sosa The correctness of much testimonially based belief is no more than minimally creditable to the believer. Ernest Sosa correctness believer belief In my view (animal) knowledge is apt belief, where not only the belief (its existence and content) but also its correctness is creditable to the subject's competence. Ernest Sosa belief views animal Animal knowledge is metaphysically constituted by apt belief, by belief whose correctness manifests the believer's epistemic competence, a relevant disposition to get it right on the matter at hand when one tries to do so. Ernest Sosa animal trying hands Epistemic competence might be posterior to knowledge conceptually, however, while still prior metaphysically. Ernest Sosa competence stills might If we have a better understanding of knowledge than we do of such justification or competence, then we can explain the latter through the former. Ernest Sosa latter justification understanding Intuitive seeming is in my view an attraction to assent based on nothing more than understanding of the content that upon consideration attracts one's assent. But such understanding-based attraction can differ dramatically in epistemic quality. Some such attractions represent nothing more than superstition or bias absorbed from the culture, sans ratiocination. Ernest Sosa quality understanding views The concept of intuition is more often used in philosophical theorizing than is the concept of observation in scientific theorizing (proportionately). One reason is that there is (proportionately) more ostensible conflict of philosophical intuitions than there is ostensible conflict of scientific observations. So much for the use of a concept of intuition in philosophical theorizing. Ernest Sosa philosophical intuition use When there are conflicts of observation, when experiments cannot be replicated, scientists may then retreat to a study of the various specific observations so as to explain the conflict, in the course of which they would make use of the concept of observation, or of some specification of that concept. Ernest Sosa retreat use may The data on which philosophical theorizing is based are rather the intuited contents themselves, concerning the various thought experiments. At least that is so outside the epistemology of the a priori. Ernest Sosa epistemology philosophical data You attain aptness by judging while in good shape and in a good situation (good light, good distance, etc.), through the exercise of good barn-sorting epistemic competence. Ernest Sosa distance light exercise Arguably, if you view a real barn in bright sunlight and close by, while fully alert and otherwise in good shape, then you do know whether or not you see a barn. You have "animal" knowledge, says my virtue theory, through the first-order aptness of your judgment. Ernest Sosa real animal order When you dream, your perceptual (and other) competence is affected. You are then unable to get it right competently with the beliefs in your dream. Ernest Sosa competence belief dream If a shot aimed at aptness succeeds aptly, it is then fully apt, since it is not only apt but also aptly apt. But the full aptness of such an attempt is entirely compatible with its being a horrible murder, if the "hunter" is an assassin and the prey his victim. That hunter's shot may still be outstandingly, fully apt, if it manifests the agent's competence in both archery dexterity and shot selection. Ernest Sosa archery assassins may In competitive archery, risk assessment has minimal bearing on quality of performance, since the archer has so little choice over shot selection. By contrast, in a hunt, shots vary in quality according to how well selected they may be. Ernest Sosa archer assessment choices Attempts are found in domains of human performance, such as sports, games, artistic domains, professional domains like medicine and the law, and so on. These feature distinctive aims, and corresponding competences. Archery, with its distinctive arrows and targets, divides into subdomains. Thus, competitive archery differs importantly from archery hunting. Ernest Sosa archery hunting sports Success is better than failure; an attempt is a better attempt, it is better as an attempt, if competent than if incompetent; and it is better to succeed through competence - aptly - than through sheer luck. Ernest Sosa competence succeed luck Knowledge in my view is a form of action. It involves endeavors to get it right, and more broadly it concerns aimings, which can be functional rather than intentional. Ernest Sosa form views action Ultimately, my more significant agreement is with a virtue tradition that features Aristotle and Descartes. Ernest Sosa tradition virtue agreement Any defense of common sense must allow that it is revisable. Ernest Sosa common-sense defense common We need some standard that will determine how likely a belief is to be true given just that it is stored in one of us, including strangers that one can ask for directions, and with whom one might collaborate. Ernest Sosa belief might needs
