Scepticism Comes Alive [Hardcover]

In epistemology the nagging voice of the sceptic has always been present, whispering that You can't know that you have hands, or just about anything else, because for all you know your whole life is a dream. Philosophers have recently devised ingenious ways to argue against and silence this voice, but Bryan Frances now presents a highly original argument template for generating new kinds of radical scepticism, ones that hold even if all the clever anti-sceptical fixes defeat the traditional sceptic. Sharp, witty, and fun to read,Scepticism Comes Alivewill be highly provocative for anyone interested in knowledge and its limits.

1. Introduction: When a Sceptical Hypothesis is Live
2. When Experts Make Mistakes
3. How Live Hypotheses Sabotage Knowledge
4. The First Live Sceptical Hypothesis
5. Additional Sceptical Hypotheses
6. The Sceptical Solution
7. Universal Scepticism
8. The Consistency of Scepticism and Knowledge
9. Epistemic Threats, Context, and our Anti-Sceptical Strategies
10. Disarming the Live Sceptical Threat
11. Do Live Sceptical Hypotheses Pose Real Threats?
12. Defeating the Live Sceptic Head-On
13. Concluding Reflections

Scepticism Comes Aliveis an ingenious and persuasive book that brings to light a new kind of skepticism. (It is also one of the funniest philosophy books I have read.) It is required reading for those interested in the theory of knowledge. --Anthony Brueckner,Philosophical Quarterly

Frances's book is exceptionally clear and well-argued. He writes with an engaging style and presents original arguments for a fairly radical skepticism. Its central conclusion is highly controversial...I think it might make quite a splash. --Richard Fumerton, University of Iowa

I think this is a terrific book...well-argued, clearly written and well-organized. It is also entertaining and fun to read. Frances has an excellent command of the relevant issues al+