Ignorance: A Philosophical StudyIgnorance: A Philosophical Study provides an in-depth exploration of ignorance in its many dimensions. Philosophers have long examined epistemological concepts like belief, knowledge, and understanding, but they have paid less attention to ignorance. Socrates famously claimed to be ignorant about a wide variety of issues, such as physical matters and ethics, but did not study ignorance itself. It was not until the 1960's and 70's that ignorance itself became a topic of concern in philosophy, when the fields of agnotology, philosophy of race, and feminist philosophy were born. These fields, however, focused on specific properties of ignorance, rather than ignorance itself. Rik Peels provides a full-on epistemology of ignorance, and then applies that epistemology to a wide variety of philosophical issues. Among the questions he addresses are: What kinds of ignorance are there? What is it to be ignorant of a proposition? What varieties of propositional ignorance are there? What is group ignorance? What is it for ignorance to come in degrees? What is strategic ignorance? What is "white ignorance"? What does ignorance excuse? When is ignorance culpable? Can ignorance be a proper aim in education? Peels presents a wide-angle exploration that is relevant to the interests of philosophers across epistemology, ethics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, and other disciplines. |
Contents
We Need to Know More about Ignorance | 1 |
Part 1 The Epistemology of Ignorance | 23 |
Part 2 Applying The Epistemology of Ignorance | 143 |
Epilogue | 289 |
| 297 | |
| 315 | |
Common terms and phrases
actually agnotology apply argued assert attention attitude blameless blameworthy chapter claim clear complete ignorance conception condition considered course culpable deep defeaters defended determinable disbelieving distinction distinguished duty Dynamic educational epistemic epistemology evidence example excuse explain explore fact fails false follows formed further give group ignorance holds idea igno Imagine important individual instance intellectual issue kinds knowledge lack least less maintain matter meet merely moral nature never norance objectual objectual ignorance obligation one’s operative members order ignorance particular person philosophers practical ignorance Press properties propositional ignorance question race rance reason relation relevant responsibility seems simply situation someone sometimes specific Standard student suggests suspend judgment suspending ignorance things true belief true proposition truly truth unconsidered undecided understanding University varieties of ignorance various vices View violation virtues whereas white ignorance