Semantic self-knowledge and the vat argument

Philosophical Studies 176 (9):2289-2306 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Putnam’s vat argument is intended to show that I am not a permanently envatted brain. The argument holds promise as a response to vat scepticism, which depends on the claim that I do not know that I am not a permanently envatted brain. However, there is a widespread idea that the vat argument cannot fulfil this promise, because to employ the argument as a response to vat scepticism I would have to make assumptions about the content of the premises and/or conclusion of the argument that beg the question against the sceptic. In this paper, I show that this idea is mistaken.

Author's Profile

Analytics

Added to PP
2018-06-18

Downloads
148 (#89,798)

6 months
89 (#73,330)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?