Coherence, Knowledge and Skepticism

Abstract

About twenty years ago Keith Lehrer wrote this about how he does philosophy:

… In philosophy, we do not have experiments, only the light of reason to guide us… Anyone who obscures that light is defeating the enterprise… Should I ever reach the point at which I am disinclined to seek criticism and amend my views in light of it, I shall take to writing fiction… and give up writing philosophy altogether. Criticism is the touchstone of philosophical inquiry, and those who shunt it aside… are phonies and beguilers.¹

I want to thank Anne Ashbaugh and especially Keith Lehrer for their help with this paper. Keith and I have been talking and emailing about some of these issues for many years. In particular, an ancestor of this paper was given at the Pacific APA meeting (March, 2001) . He replied to it there and also kindly sent me some further comments later. Keith has taught me a lot over the years and I expect that his replies to this version of the paper will continue to make me think more about the issues. That’s the fun of it all.