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TWO POINT FIVE DOGMAS OFVALUE-DRIVE EPISTEMOLOGY

JESS ZAMORA-BONILLAUNED (Madrid)

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Recent trend towards an epistemologygrounded onpractical philosophy

E.g., epistemic responsibility, virtue, merit, justice...

'Epistemic value theory': what makesknowledge better than true belief is thatknowledge is more valuable.

Cf. epistemic value page, by Duncan Pritchard,http://epistemicvaluestirling.blogspot.com/

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The big dogma:

A single piece of knowledge is more valuable thathe corresponding (merely) true belief

Three semi-dogmas:

Justification is what makes knowledge valuable

Knowledge is a subspecies of belief

Important epistemic values are intrinsic

Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

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value oftruly

believingthat p.

You win 200

v(p)

Value

value oftruly

believingthat p.You win 100

v(p)

value ofknowingthat p.

You win 100

v(p)

value ofknowing

that p.

You win 100

v(p) = v(p)

Value

value oftruly

believingthat p.

You win 100

v(p)

value oftruly

believingthat p.

You win 200

v(p)

Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Against the bigdogma (1)

If knowledge is mo

valuable than mere trubelief for an agent, theshe may value more th

knowledge thguarantees a small

prize, than the true belithat guarantees a high

priz

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If the difference between knowing X and trulybelieving X consists in that in the first case avaluable virtue or capacity is exercised,

then knowing X seems better just because [trulybelieving Xplus having the capacity]is better tha[just truly believing X]

But having the capacity is valuable because it

leads to have many othertrue beliefs, not viceversa.

Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Against the first semi-dogma Zagzebski's critique to reliabilism:

Two identical(good) coffee cups, one producedby a reliable coffee machine, and otheraccidentally by a bad machine.

Both cups are equally valuable

So, the reliabilityof the process leading to a piece

of knowledge does not explain its epistemicvalue.

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

We prefer reliable epistemicprocedures becausewe want true beliefs, not viceversa

What makes a proposition worth believingisthat it is true, not that it has been reliablyacquired.

Sojustification doesnt add value to a true belief,it only certifiesthat it is true (and valuable)

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Stated differently, good epistemic procedures are not those

that create the value of their outputs, but just those that help

us to identifythose outputs that are valuable (valuable

mainly, though not only, for being true).

The confusion arises because, having been produced by a

reliable method explains why the belief is very likely true

But here explanation means that the procedure is our

reason for knowing the value of the belief, and not whatconstitutes this value.

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

A possible circularity?

We value epistemicprocedures according to thevalue of theiroutputs, but need to apply just thoseprocedures in order to determine the outputsvalue.

This circularity cannot be solved by anyepistemolgical theory (or can we?).

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The big dogma:The big dogma:

A single piece of knowledge is more valuable thaA single piece of knowledge is more valuable thathe corresponding (merely) true beliefthe corresponding (merely) true belief

Three semi-dogmas:Three semi-dogmas: Justification is what makes knowledge valuableJustification is what makes knowledge valuable

Knowledge is a subspecies of belief (i.e., beliefplus something more)

Important epistemic values are intrinsicImportant epistemic values are intrinsic

Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Against the second semi-dogma Two meanings of believing: taking as true vs. not being

fully sure.

Analytic epistemology concentrates on the first sense

Bayesian epistemology, on the second.

One question: why do we use the same word for two suchdifferent concepts?

Belief reports as endorsement of claims without

transmiting to the audience an obbligation (or right?) toendorse them.

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The big dogma:The big dogma:

A single piece of knowledge is more valuable thaA single piece of knowledge is more valuable thathe corresponding (merely) true beliefthe corresponding (merely) true belief

Three semi-dogmas:Three semi-dogmas: Justification is what makes knowledge valuableJustification is what makes knowledge valuable

Knowledge is a subspecies of beliefKnowledge is a subspecies of belief

Important epistemic values are intrinsic (notinstrumental)

Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Against the third semi-dogma

The monetary value of a 200 note is a paradigmatic example

of an instrumentalvalue (it is only useful because of the

worth you put in the things you can afford with it), whereas

the fact that the note is brand-new and smooth has just a

merely intrinsicvalue (you like it to be so, but not as a mean

to getting something else by means of it)

Do you prefer a brand new 5 note, or a crumpled 200 one

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

This confusion rests on the idea that values must beobjective in order to really be values

But values are nothing besides the fact that somebodvalues them. I.e., a value is just a kind of goal or

preference of somebody.

Something can be a goal for someone only if she hassome mean ofnoticingwhether she has achieved thegoal

What about truth?

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Waiter, this is

tea, or coffee?

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Cant you notice the

difference by the

taste, sir?

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No, I cant!!!

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In that case, does it

really matter

whether it is tea or

coffee, sir?

??!!

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

Values are also essentially subject to a trade-off:you often need to choose how much of onesacrifice to get a bit more of another.

Value driven epistemology should also care aboutmany other values both epistemological and notand their relative costs (i.e., theirinterdependencies and their possible conflicts).

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Two point five dogmas of value driven epistemology

One last reflection:

Should the question about what is

knowledge be more important toepistemology as the question what

is health is to medicine?