Putting Skeptics in their Place: The Nature of Skeptical Arguments and Their Role in Philosophical Inquiry (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "This book has three major theses: (1) that a number of historically prominent skeptical arguments make no obvious mistake and therefore cannot be easily dismissed;..." (more)
Key Phrases: agent reliabilism, beliefs about the world depend, taking skeptical arguments, Oxford University Press, Alvin Goldman, Barry Stroud (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an important book...Greco's writing is crystal clear and the volume is well organized. It is impossible to get lost in a chapter and easy to see how each chapters fits into the progression of the essay. Furthermore, the volume is attractively produced with clean printing, notes at the foot, a solid bibliography, and a reasonable index." Philosophical Review

"Greco's book stands out...as one of the best books on skepticism in the last twenty years, earning it a place alongside Stroud's masterful The Significance of Philosophical Scepticism and Williams's already-lauted Unnatural Doubts. Any serious epistemologist, of any stripe or persuasion, would be benefited by reading it..." Review of Metaphysics

Product Description

This book is about the nature of skeptical arguments and their role in philosophical inquiry. John Greco delineates three main theses: that a number of historically prominent skeptical arguments make no obvious mistake, and therefore cannot be easily dismissed; that the analysis of skeptical arguments is philosophically useful and important, and should therefore have a central place in the methodology of philosophy; and that taking skeptical arguments seriously requires us to adopt an externalist, reliabilist epistemology. This book will be of interest to professionals and graduate students in epistemology and moral philosophy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521045533
• ISBN-13: 978-0521045537
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,715,095 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars skeptics, go home!, July 2, 2001

By	Sara Albieri (Florianopolis, SC Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Putting Skeptics in their Place: The Nature of Skeptical Arguments and Their Role in Philosophical Inquiry (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy) (Hardcover)

Skepticism has been a companion to philosophical enquiry. Socrates favorite strategy was to attract his opponent favor by friendly talk, slowly leading him to expose his weak points to a sharp and restless skeptic attack. when asked to make a point, he always hid behind a now famous confession of ignorance.Rhis reminds us of the nature of early philosophical practice, a search for truth with skeptical tools. Plato, the first dogmatic, followed his mentor,s skeptical way of enquiry. Plato,s academy clearly didn,t inherit its founder,s doctrine. It ended up in skeptical doubt rather than in a temple to worship, say, the Sunlight of truth. Could it be possible that the skeptic wins them all. Since the early Greek days, philosophical enquiry has been an atempt to deal with the skeptical challenge, either by facing it in open field of arguments on foundations, or by ignoringit by walking on the safe path of nature. Author J.Greco is in fine company:the whole philosophers team backs his attempt to put the skeptic in his place. Amd wishes him luck this time!