Talk of belief in these animals is not some kind of anthropomorphism. We simply cannot explain the kinds … - Hilary Kornblith

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I only pick one thing; North, South, East or West. I just get on the road and go. That's the point. The only governor I give myself is what's the time limit.

Hilary Kornblith

Talk of belief in these animals is not some kind of anthropomorphism. We simply cannot explain the kinds of problem solving and behavioral sophistication some species exhibit without supposing that they have genuine beliefs. But once these ethologists finish making the case for animal belief, they quickly move to talk of animal knowledge as well. What I argue is that this is not a mere façon de parler.

Animal, Anthropomorphism, Ethologists, Explain, Moving, Supposing That

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Chemists in earlier centuries were quite interested in the nature of acids. They had no interest in analysing their concept of acid. After all, they knew that their understanding of acids was at a fairly primitive level, and what they wanted to do was understand something about the world better - the nature of acidity - not something about their own concepts.

Concept, Levels, Quite, Understand, Understanding, World

But there is no doubt that my own views on this are, in quite a number of ways, very different from those of Quine.

Views, Numbers, Doubt, Quite, Different

Bealer argues that the kind of naturalistic view which Quine holds will rob him of the ability to make the normative claims which (many) naturalists wish to make in epistemology. I don't think this is right about Quine, but I'm certain it's not right about my own view. To the extent that I can show that talk of knowledge is firmly rooted within empirical theories where it plays an important explanatory role, I thereby demonstrate its naturalistic credentials.

Knowledge, Naturalists, Play, Thereby, Thinking, Views

Bealer has a number of reasons for thinking that a naturalistic epistemology is self-undermining. Let me focus on one of these. (I've tried to take on all of them in the first chapter of Knowledge and Its Place in Nature. )

Bealer, Epistemology, Number, Numbers, Self, Thinking

In my view, since the case can be made that knowledge too is a natural kind, the role of pretheoretical intuitions is similarly diminished in epistemology.

Epistemology, Intuition, Knowledge, Pretheoretical, Roles, Views