Subjective Reasons and Truth

Abstract

Chapter 4 takes up the question of why epistemologists have been reluctant to endorse answers to what evidence supports basic perceptual beliefs that allow such evidence to be false, and argues that the best philosophical motivation for this commitment is closely related to the problem of unjustified belief. The idea that subjective reasons are just a special case of objective reasons is resisted, as are arguments drawing on felicity data about reports of subjective or motivating reasons. An alternative argument drawing on the idea that perceptual experiences can in themselves be instances of knowledge is addressed, and Williamson’s claim that knowledge is the most general factive stative attitude is refuted. Finally, a simple model for thinking about how subjective reasons could factor into the competition over what it is rational to believe without building in a prior truth or rationality constraint is introduced, drawing on work by John Horty.