Spatan, Sergiu
Junior Fellow: October 2020–September 2021
Research Project: The Role of Testimony in Knowledge Ascriptions: A Defence of Scepticism
The general aim of this research project is to develop a proposed sceptical account of knowledge by investigating both historical and contemporary philosophical texts. More precisely, it will scrutinise a principle proposed in the author’s PhD thesis (part of an error theory for explaining away anti-sceptical intuitions) known as the “Reflexivity of Knowledge Ascription principle” (RKA). According to the RKA, “if A believes that S knows that p, then A believes that A knows that p.” The plan for investigating the RKA is twofold. On the one hand, the project will explore early modern, modern, and contemporary accounts of testimonies that may shed some light on a more fundamental testimonial principle that supports RKA. On the other, it will examine early modern, modern and contemporary philosophical texts that discuss illustrations of RKA (such as revelation, prophecy, or the authority of tradition) in order to establish that RKA is indeed the case and to evaluate it from a sceptical perspective. Indeed, if a connection between RKA and a more fundamental testimonial principle is established, then the reliability of the cases illustrating RKA can be interrogated by attacking the more fundamental testimonial principle. The sceptical circle would then be closed.
Sergiu Spatan is a PhD candidate in philosophy at Universität Hamburg.