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Scientific article
Open access
English

Is There a Statistical Solution to the Generality Problem?

Published inErkenntnis, vol. 78, no. 6, p. 1347-1365
Publication date2013
Abstract

This article is concerned with a statistical proposal due to James R. Beebe for how to solve the generality problem for process reliabilism. The proposal is highlighted by Alvin I. Goldman as an interesting candidate solution. However, Goldman raises the worry that the proposal may not always yield a determinate result. We address this worry by proving a dilemma: either the statistical approach does not yield a determinate result or it leads to trivialization, i.e. reliability collapses into truth (and anti-reliability into falsehood). Various strategies for avoiding this predicament are considered, including revising the statistical rule or restricting its application to natural kinds. All amendments are seen to have serious problems of their own. We conclude that reliabilists need to look elsewhere for a convincing solution to the generality problem.

Research group
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - 100015-131794 Knowledge Evidence Practice
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - 100018-124613 Perceptual warrant Entitlement and A Priori Knowledge
Citation (ISO format)
DUTANT, Julien, OLSSON, Erik J. Is There a Statistical Solution to the Generality Problem? In: Erkenntnis, 2013, vol. 78, n° 6, p. 1347–1365. doi: 10.1007/s10670-012-9427-y
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Article (Accepted version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal1572-8420
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