Moore's Paradox and Self-Knowledge
What explanation is there of the source of my justification for my beliefs about my beliefs that respects the fact that I am normally the best authority on them? Moore's paradox demands an explanation of the absurdity of believing or asserting possible truths of the forms p but I don't bel...
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Format: | text |
Language: | English |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
2004
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Online Access: | https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/21 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/1020/viewcontent/MooresParadoxSelfKnowledge_2004_wp.pdf |
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Institution: | Singapore Management University |
Language: | English |
Summary: | What explanation is there of the source of my justification for my beliefs about my beliefs that respects the fact that I am normally the best authority on them? Moore's paradox demands an explanation of the absurdity of believing or asserting possible truths of the forms p but I don't believe that p or p but I believe that not-p. I argue for Evans principle that whatever justifies me in believing that p also justifies me in believing that I believe that p. This helps explain how I come to know my own beliefs and also shows that it is impossible for a Moorean belief to be justified. I then explain the absurdity of Moorean assertion while avoiding the messy notion of 'expressing belief' yet acknowledging Shoemaker’s constraint that if I cannot non-absurdly believe that p then I cannot non-absurdly assert that p. |
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