Zagzebski on rationality

• Main Author: RYAN, Shane
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: Epistemology; Logic and Foundations of Mathematics
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3655; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4913/viewcontent/document.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This paper examines Linda Zagzebski’s (2012) account of rationality, as set out in her rich, wide-ranging, and important book, Epistemic Authority: A Theory of Trust, Authority, and Autonomy in Belief. We briefly describe the account that she offers and then consider its plausibility. In particular, in the first section we argue that a number of Zagzebski’s claims with regard to rationality require more support than she offers for them. Moreover, in the second section, we contend that far from offering Zagzebski a quick way of dealing with radical scepticism, her account of rationality actually seems to be particularly vulnerable to this problem.