
The Reliability of Sense Perception
William P. Alston(Author)
Cornell University Press
1st Edition
Published on 5. July 2018
168 pages
978-1-5017-2054-3 (ISBN)
System requirements
for PDF without DRM
E-Book Single Licence
You are acquiring a single user licence for this eBook, which you might not transfer. [L]
Available for download
Description
Alles über E-Books | Antworten auf Fragen rund um E-Books, Kopierschutz und Dateiformate finden Sie in unserem Info- & Hilfebereich.
Why suppose that sense perception is an accurate source of information about the physcial environment? More generally, is it possible to demonstrate that our basic ways of forming beliefs are reliable? In this book, a leading analytic philosopher confronts this classic problem through detailed investigation of sense perception, the source of beliefs in which we place the most confidence. Carefully assessing the available arguments, William P. Alston concludes that it is not possible to show in any noncircular way that sense perception is a reliable source of beliefs.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Digital original
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-2054-3 (9781501720543)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

William P. Alston
The Reliability of Sense Perception
Book
01/1996
Cornell University Press
€38.38
Shipment within 10-20 days

William P. Alston
The Reliability of Sense Perception
Book
05/1993
Cornell University Press
€66.85
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
AlstonWilliam P.:
The late William P. Alston was Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Syracuse University. His books include A Realist Conception of Truth, Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meanings, The Reliability of Sense Perception, and Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience, all from Cornell.
The late William P. Alston was Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Syracuse University. His books include A Realist Conception of Truth, Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meanings, The Reliability of Sense Perception, and Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience, all from Cornell.
Content
- Cover
- THE RELIABILITY OF SENSE PERCEPTION
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- CONTENTS
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- i. The Problem
- ii. Significance of the Problem
- iii. Ways of Belief Formation
- iv. Doxastic Practices
- v. Reliability
- Chapter 2 Track Record and Other Simple Empirical Arguments for Reliability
- i. A Track Record Argument for the Reliability of Sense Perceptual Practice (SP)
- ii. Epistemic Circularity
- iii. A Piecemeal Approach
- iv. Back to SP as a Whole
- v. Pragmatic Arguments: Validation by Fruits
- vi. The Road Ahead
- Chapter 3 A Priori Arguments
- i. Theological Arguments
- ii. Verificationism
- iii. Criteria of Physical Object Concepts
- iv. Paradigm Case Arguments
- v. The Private Language Argument
- vi. Transcendental Arguments
- Chapter 4 Empirical Arguments for the Reliability of SP
- i. The Explanation of Sensory Experience
- ii. The Explanation of Patterns in Sense Experience
- iii. Attempts to Support the Standard Explanation
- iv. Explanations of Our Success in Predicting Our Experience
- v. Problems with the Argument
- vi. How Widespread Is the Circularity Problem?
- Chapter 5 Where Do We Go from Here?
- i. The Problem
- ii. A Practical Argument for the Rationality of SP
- iii. Practical Rationality and Reliability
- iv. Overriders of Prima Facie Rationality
- v. Significant Self-Support
- Bibliography
- Index
System requirements
File format: PDF
Copy protection: without DRM (Digital Rights Management)
System requirements:
- Computer (Windows; MacOS X; Linux): Use the free software Adobe Reader, Adobe Digital Editions, or any other PDF viewer of your choice (see eBook Help).
- Tablet/Smartphone (Android; iOS): Install the free app Adobe Digital Editions or another reading app for eBooks, e.g., PocketBook (see eBook Help).
- E-reader: Bookeen, Kobo, Pocketbook, Sony, Tolino and many more (only limited: Kindle).
The file format PDF always displays a book page identically on any hardware. This makes PDF suitable for complex layouts such as those used in textbooks and reference books (images, tables, columns, footnotes). Unfortunately, on the small screens of e-readers or smartphones, PDFs are rather annoying, requiring too much scrolling.
This eBook does not use copy protection or Digital Rights Management.
For more information, see our eBook Help page.