USyd Philosophy Postgraduate Work-in-Progress Seminar Lara Raford-Sutton, 'Davidson’s Externalism and the Skeptical Question'
Monday, October 17, 3:30-5:00pm, Main Quad, Philosophy Common Room (University of Sydney) ABSTRACT: Davidson (1974) argued that the dualism of scheme and content works to shore up the evidential role of subjective input against skeptical worries but suggests that in doing so it ironically creates an insurmountable gap between our subjective input and the world it takes itself to be about. On Davidson’s own externalist view the conceptual scheme we utilize presupposes an objective world and other rational agent(s). Thus the skeptical problem associated with scheme and content dualism doesn’t arise. However, Stroud (2002), has argued that an epistemological externalism, such as Davidson’s, cannot satisfactorily answer the skeptic. I will argue that Stroud’s argument holds. We have followed Davidson in rejecting a theory that stipulates a particular way in which our subjective inputs are epistemically unquestionable, because in so stipulating, the theory ironically creates a gap between subjectivity and the world, such that we can never show that they are in agreement. But, we should pause before replacing it with Davidson’s externalist theory which stipulates that we have epistemically unquestionable knowledge of the objective world which, ironically, cuts us off from knowing if this theory and the world are in agreement. I will argue that Mcdowell’s construal of where Davidson has gone wrong here provides only part of the story and that this both raises some interesting issues for Mcdowell’s own account and provides promising ground for seeing the skeptical problem differently. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to present or require further information, please contact Nick Malpas at [email protected]. The format is 30 minutes for presentations followed by 1 hour of discussion. Since the primary aim of this seminar is to generate discussion, presentations need not be particularly polished or formal.
_______________________________________________ SydPhil mailing list: http://sydphil.info 1000+ subscribers now served!! To UNSUBSCRIBE, change your MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS, find ANSWERS TO COMMON PROBLEMS, or visit our ONLINE ARCHIVES, please go to the LIST INFORMATION PAGE: http://sydphil.info
