Pathways to Knowledge: Private and Public - Softcover

... a devastating and sustained critique of epistemic internalism ... this comprehensive and, in places, novel critique of internalism could not have come at a better time. On the whole, the discussion in this volume is as subtle and sophisticated as you would expect from a philosopher of Goldman's calibre, with nearly all of the papers in this volume constituting a definitive contribution to the epistemological debate to which they are directed ... there is little point in resisting the urge to have a copy of this book to hand. (The Philosophical Quarterly)

How can we know? How can we attain justified belief? These traditional questions in epistemology have inspired philosophers for centuries. Now, in this exceptional work, Alvin Goldman, distinguished scholar and leader in the fields of epistemology and mind, approaches such inquiries as legitimate methods or "pathways" to knowledge. He examines the notion of private and public knowledge, arguing for the epistemic legitimacy of private and introspective methods of gaining knowledge, yet acknowledging the equal importance of social and public mechanisms in the quest for truth. Throughout, he addresses this opposition but proposes a rigorous framework that resolves such tensions, making this collection of papers one of the most important contributions to the theory of knowledge in recent years.