Theory of Knowledge [Paperback]

Keith Lehrer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813390532 | ISBN-13: 978-0813390536 | Publication Date: September 20, 2000 | Edition: 2nd

In this impressive second edition of Theory of Knowledge, Keith Lehrer introduces students to the major traditional and contemporary accounts of knowing. Beginning with the traditional definition of knowledge as justified true belief, Lehrer explores the truth, belief, and justification conditions on the way to a thorough examination of foundation theories of knowledge,the work of Platinga, externalism and naturalized epistemologies, internalism and modern coherence theories, contextualism, and recent reliabilist and causal theories. Lehrer gives all views careful examination and concludes that external factors must be matched by appropriate internal factors to yield knowledge. This match of internal and external factors follows from Lehrer’s new coherence theory of undefeated justification. In addition to doing justice to the living epistemological traditions, the text smoothly integrates several new lines that will interest scholars. Also, a feature of special interest is Lehrer’s concept of a justification game.This second edition of Theory of Knowledge is a thoroughly revised and updated version that contains several completely new chapters. Written by a well-known scholar and contributor to modern epistemology, this text is distinguished by clarity of structure, accessible writing, and an elegant mix of traditional material, contemporary ideas, and well-motivated innovation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Attains something both difficult and rare, as it introduces students brilliantly to the field and also guides them to the cutting edge." -- Ernest Sosa, Brown University

"Quite delightful. Lehrer is certainly a master stylist. In addition to its stylistic virtues, this book contains clear and careful accounts (and critiques) of traditional, modern, and contemporary theories." -- Jonathan Kvanvig, Texas A&M University

"Will be useful to scholars as well as to students.... The book is well organized, clearly written, and philosophically careful.... Highly recommended." -- Choice

About the Author

Keith Lehrer is Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press; 2nd edition (September 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813390532
• ISBN-13: 978-0813390536
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite a textbook, not quite a treatise, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Theory Of Knowledge (Dimensions of Philosophy Series) (Paperback)

The other Dimensions of Philosophy books I had seen and used - Van Imwagen's Metaphysics and Kim's Mind books - had been excellent for mid-to-upper level philosophy courses. Both had their axes to grind, but overviews of a wide range of opinions and positions was offered in a way I found balanced and reasonable. Lehrer's book is more Lehrer's pet project. The sections on foundationalism contain a little preamble and a lot of criticism (and I say this as someone who thinks the doctrine is false) and the rest contains a lot of arguments that I recognize as specifically taken from Lehrer's work rather than representing the field as a whole. And as an overview of Lehrer's work, this will not satisfy professional philosophers, for the deeper points and issues are only given a few allusions. This is not to say Lehrer is not an impressive philosopher, but those, like me, who were looking for something to use in a classroom may find this frustrating.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult but possibly worth it..., June 1, 2001

By 

David J. DeVore (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Theory of Knowledge (Paperback)

The theory of knowledge is a hard subject to begin learning; with terms like "justification," "acceptance," "foundationalism," and "externalism" flying around, the philosophical novice may easily get lost in the philosophical whirlwind. Because I read Lehrer's introductory effort painstakingly and carefully, it mitigated my difficulties with learning epistemology.

In a subject containing such obscure terminology, Lehrer starts the reader off on the right foot; if the reader puts enough work in to understand his first chapter, he will have a good understanding of the language of the subject. His remaining chapters do as good a job as can be expected of taking the reader through the various problems that the discussion of different theories of knowledge. Lehrer tries to make it interesting by arguing for his own pet theory (a coherence theory supported by the trustworthiness principle), and his ploy does help the reader pay attention, though in his partisanship he doesn't always present the opposing argument fairly (as in the counterexamples to undefeated justification in chapter 7). On the whole, however, a valient effort and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in epistemology.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book!, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Theory of Knowledge (Paperback)

Lehrer provides one of the best introductions to epistemology. The book is well suited to advanced undergraduates, graduates and professional philosophers alike. More importantly, it is an improvement on his first edition -- some areas of argument and explication have been cleaned up, and he has added material on recent developments in the field (e.g. contextualism and virtue epistemology). Great book.