The Epistemology of a Priori Knowledge

ISBN-13: 9780195182712 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 208 str.

Tamara Horowitz; Jr. Joseph L. Camp

Opis

This volume collects four published articles by the late Tamara Horowitz and two unpublished papers on decision theory: "Making Rational Decisions When Preferences Cycle" and the monograph-length "The Backtracking Fallacy." An introduction is provided by editor Joseph Camp.

Horowitz preferred to recognize the diversity of rationality, both practical and theoretical rationality. She resisted the temptation to accept simple theories of rationality that are quick to characterize ordinary reasoning as fallacious. This broadly humanist approach to philosophy is exemplified by the articles in this collection. As just one example, in "The Backtracking Fallacy," she argues that there are policies for decision-making a person may adopt if the person prefers to do so, but need not adopt. A person who employs such a policy no longer can regard standard expected utility theory as exceptionless, thereby sacrificing theoretical simplicity. But it is a mistake, Horowitz argues, to preserve theoretical simplicity by falsifying the decision making methods real people really use.

O autorze

Tamara Horowitz, educated at the University of Chicago and MIT, taught at Vassar College, New York University, and SUNY Purchase before joining the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1985. Her interests were primarily in feminist philosophy and the epistemology of a priori knowledge. When she died in early 2000, she was the first woman chair of Pittsburgh's philosophy department. Joseph L. Camp, Jr. is former Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh.