In this new explanationist account of epistemic justification, Poston argues that the explanatory virtues provide all the materials necessary for a plausible account of justified belief. There are no purely autonomous reasons. Rather reasons occur only within an explanatory coherent set of beliefs.Series Editors' Preface Preface 1. Introduction 2. Epistemic Conservatism 3. Reasons without First Philosophy 4. Explanation and Justification 5. BonJour and the Myth of the Given 6. Is Foundational a Priori Justification Indispensable? 7. Bayesian Explanationism Index
In this interesting book, Ted Poston delivers an original and powerful defence of explanatory coherentism about justification. & an inspiring monograph that actually advances research in this field Scholars and postgraduates interested in the recent debate on coherentism about epistemic justification should definitely read this book. (Luca Moretti, The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 67 (266), January, 2017)
Ted Poston is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Alabama, USA. His primary areas of research are epistemology and philosophy of science. He has written many articles in journals such as
American Philosophical Quarterly, Dialectica, Episteme, Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenology Research, Res Philosophica, and
The Southern Journal of Philosophy.
Poston presents his readers with an original, clear and sophisticated defense of both epistemic conservatism and explanatory coherentism. He couples that defense of his positive view with a formidable, sustained attack on classical foundationalism. The book is a must read for anyone interested in fundamental issues in epistemology. - Richard Fumerton, F. Wendell Miller Professor of Philosophy, University of Iowa, USA
Ted Poston argues for holistls³