Episteme 1 (online first view):1-21 (
2019)
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Abstract
In this paper, I consider the so-called Access Problem for Duncan Pritchard’s
Epistemological Disjunctivism (2012). After reconstructing Pritchard’s own response to
the Access Problem, I argue that in order to assess whether Pritchard’s response is a
satisfying one, we first need an account of the notion of ‘Reflective Access’ that underpins
Pritchard’s Epistemological Disjunctivism. I provide three interpretations of the notion of
Reflective Access: a metaphysical interpretation, a folk interpretation, and an epistemic
interpretation. I argue that none of these three interpretations comes without problems. I
conclude that, until we have a clear and unproblematic account of Reflective Access, the
Access Problem remains a challenge for Pritchard’s Epistemological Disjunctivism.