This paper argues that the historical conception of knowing as a presentational factive mental state (‘presentationalism’) is not best understood as an alternative to belief-based and knowledge-first epistemology, but rather as an account of epistemic architecture that is compatible with these paradigms. To defend this claim, the paper focuses on a challenge to presentationalism raised by inferential knowledge and argues that the problem can be solved only if presentationalism is understood as I suggest. The paper is structured as follows. §1 (...) explains presentationalism and its recent revival. §2 considers a flat-footed argument that presentationalism cannot get any cases of inferential knowledge right. §3 suggests that this problem can and should be solved by drawing a distinction between two kinds of epistemic priority, and by holding that inferential knowledge can be immediate in an epistemologically significant sense. But §4 argues that this only goes so far, since not all inferential knowledge is alike. This further problem can also be solved, but only if presentationalism is reframed as a proposal about epistemic architecture that does not compete with belief-based and knowledge-first accounts, §5 concludes. (shrink)

Ernest Sosa (1940-) is a central figure in contemporary epistemology. He is best known for pioneering the subfield of virtue epistemology, as well as developing across four decades his own distinctive framework in this tradition. Besides providing an overview of this work, this article offers a guide to Sosa’s other contributions to epistemology, stretching back to his first publication in 1964. The organization is as follows. §1 reviews Sosa’s distinctive brand of virtue epistemology and its development since 1980. §2 provides (...) a fuller synopsis of Sosa’s contributions to epistemology in five parts, covering his work on (i) the structure of justification and knowledge, (ii) the dawning of knowledge and understanding, (iii) skepticism and the possibility of empirical knowledge, (iv) methodology and the possibility of philosophy, and (v) the relationship between mind and world. Our aim is to encourage renewed appreciation of the full scope and depth of Sosa’s epistemology. We hope the reader will benefit from (re)exploring Sosa’s work guided by the map detailed below. (shrink)

Dieser Sammelband vereinigt zeitdiagnostische Studien, in denen wichtige Tendenzen der Denkkultur der Gegenwart kritisch analysiert werden. So bekannte deutschsprachige Philosophen und Sozialwissenschaftler wie Hans Albert, Werner Becker, Malte Hossenfelder, Hans Lenk, Michael Schmid, Gerard Radnitzky, Ernst Topitsch usw. behandeln Themen wie: Ist Aufklärung heute noch aktuell? Wie gefährlich sind philosophische Heilslehrer und fundamentalistische Weltanschauungen? Ist das Theorem der Risikogesellschaft bloß ein Mythologem? Werden Utopien durch Demokratie domestiziert? Gibt es ein gemeinsames Verständnis von Glück? Ist die moderne Wohlfahrtsdemokratie mit individueller Freiheit (...) vereinbar? Was leistet die Rational-Choice-Theorie, die in sozialwissenschaftlichen Erklärungsmodellen eine immer größere Bedeutung gewinnt? (shrink)

When is it morally permissible for performers to portray characters from marginalized groups of which they are not a member? Although this question is philosophically underexplored, it has been commanding increasing attention in the public sphere, especially with respect to straight performers portraying queer characters. While the demand for increasing self-representation from marginalized communities is laudable, we argue that demanding performers to disclose their social identity is, in general, morally counterproductive. We make our case by focusing on recent instances where (...) fans demanded that a performer disclose their sexual orientation, putting vulnerable performers in a harmful trilemma. In short, it will force many to either out themselves against their will, subject themselves to intense public backlash by taking the role without outing themselves, or forgo taking a role they want and at which they would excel. Instead, we propose that performers have a general (epistemic) obligation to learn about what their characters’ corresponding real-world experiences would plausibly be like, representing what they learned in their performances. We will argue that meeting this obligation typically entails learning about the values, broadly construed, of the community in question. If we are right, there is not even a general obligation that performers only take roles that correspond to their own social identity. Just as importantly, there is a strong moral reason not to demand that performers disclose aspects of their social identity in order to take on a role. (shrink)

What does it mean to be a good ally to the LGBTQ community? Does it count if you attach a rainbow pin to your backpack or post occasional messages of support on social media? We argue that in order to be a good ally involves avoiding the vice of complacency and that allies need to ask themselves two distinct, but related questions: (1) Who are you an ally to?; (2) How are you an ally? While reflecting on these questions helps (...) allies examine what they have or have not been doing so far, these questions point towards future action by encouraging allies to consider what else they need to be doing to help and who else they need to help. (shrink)

Die Arbeit setzt sich mit der neuzeitlichen Theodizeefrage auseinander. In einem ersten Schritt wird versucht, den genuinen Gehalt der Philosophie von Leibniz darzustellen, dessen Werk für die weitere Diskussion dieser Thematik maßgeblich wurde. Dabei wird aufgewiesen, dass die Argumente von Leibniz empiristischen und fideistischen Bestreitungen einer Theodizee standzuhalten und den Glauben an den allmächtigen und gütigen Gott mit dem Phänomen menschlicher Freiheit in Verbindung zu bringen vermögen. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Positionen von Kant und Leibniz konfrontiert. Dabei zeigt (...) sich, dass Kant den von Leibniz bezeichneten Weg nicht verwirft, sondern weiterführt und die Theodizeefrage konsequent in der Praxis menschlichen Weltumgangs zu verorten vermag. (shrink)