Unknowability: An Inquiry Into the Limits of KnowledgeThe realities of mankind's cognitive situation are such that our knowledge of the world's ways is bound to be imperfect. None the less, the theory of unknowability--agnoseology as some have called it--is a rather underdeveloped branch of philosophy. In this philosophically rich and groundbreaking work, Nicholas Rescher aims to remedy this. As the heart of the discussion is an examination of what Rescher identifies as the four prime reasons for the impracticability of cognitive access to certain facts about the world: developmental inpredictability, verificational surdity, ontological detail, and predicative vagrancy. Rescher provides a detailed and illuminating account of the role of each of these factors in limiting human knowledge, giving us an overall picture of the practical and theoretical limits to our capacity to know our world. |
Contents
Chapter 1 Unknowable Facts | 1 |
Chapter 2 Future Knowledge and Its Problems | 11 |
Chapter 3 Problems of Alien Cognition | 21 |
Chapter 4 Against Insolubilia | 39 |
Chapter 5 More Facts Than Truths | 55 |
Chapter 6 On Predicate Vagrancy and Its Epistemic Basis | 65 |
Vagueness | 77 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. N. Whitehead Accordingly actual altogether American Philosophical American Philosophical Association answer Anthropic Principle basis Bois-Reymond bound boundary C. S. Peirce Cambridge causal characterization claim clearly cognitive conceptual consider contingent cosmic cosmos course creatures denumerable different civilizations different sorts emergence of intelligence ence epistemic epistemological equivalently example existence existential explanation explanatory Extraterrestrial Intelligence fatal Ides finite Fitch's Theorem fr f2 fundamental future Haeckel heap human idea Ides of March ignorance inevitably infinite inherently insolubilia integers intractable issue knowers knowledge language laws lies limits linguistic logic matter modes musical chairs natural science never nevertheless NICHOLAS RESCHER obtain ontological operation paradox physical pivotal possible predicative vagrancy present deliberations principle problem proposition prospect question ramifications reality reason regarding Rescher simply situation Sorites Paradox subatomic substance sure theory Thomas Kuhn tion truth unanswerable uninstantiability unknowable fact vagrant predicates vagueness York