Ethics and Political Philosophy Group Talk (Tristram McPherson, Ohio State, David Plunkett, Dartmouth)

The Ethics and Political Philosophy Research Interest Group welcomes Tristram McPherson, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Ohio State University, and David Plunkett, an associate professor of Philosophy at Dartmouth College.

Please note that this talk has been rescheduled from March 2020 and now has an additional speaker.

Join the meeting:

Talk Title

Conceptual Ethics, Meta-Epistemology, and the Foundations of Epistemic Normativity

Talk Abstract

This paper advertises the importance of distinguishing three different foundational projects about epistemic thought and talk, which we call normative epistemic inquiry, metaepistemic inquiry, and the conceptual ethics of epistemology. We argue that these projects can be distinguished by their contrasting constitutive success conditions. We argue further that because of these contrasts, explicit attention to the distinction between them is a valuable resource for philosophical work on the epistemic. For example, we argue that carefully distinguishing these projects allows us to: (a) better understand and evaluate existing views in the field; (b) identify and appreciate new or underexplored theoretical options in the field; (c) avoid merely verbal disputes that can hinder intellectual progress, and (d) help us to understand the relationship between epistemology and the deepest normative questions concerning what we ought to believe, and how we ought to live.

About the Ethics and Political Philosophy Group

The Ethics and Political Philosophy Group meets periodically throughout the year to discuss topics in value theory and related fields, including meta-ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of law, moral psychology, practical reason, agency, and identity.