Do you know you’re not being massively deceived by an evil demon?  That’s a familiar skeptical challenge.  Less familiar is this question: How do you have a conception of knowledge on which the evil demon constitutes a prima facie challenge? Why do people – before training – respond so quickly to outlandish skeptical scenarios involving sorcerers and mad scientists?  We explore this question by taking a learning-theoretic approach.  We argue that, given the evidence available to the learner, it would be rational for the learner to infer an infallibilist conception of knowledge.

Philosophy Seminar Series.
Date: Friday, 17 Jan 2014
Time: 2pm – 4pm
Venue: Philosophy Resource Room (AS3 #05-23)
Speaker: Shaun Nichols, University of Arizona
Moderator: Dr. Ben Blumson

About the Speaker:

Shaun Nichols is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, where he directs a research group on experimental philosophy. He has published widely at the intersection of philosophy and psychology, including a book on moral judgment, Sentimental Rules, as well as several articles in experimental philosophy on free will, responsibility, and cultural diversity.