Intellectual Modesty in Socratic Wisdom: Problems of Epistemic Logic and an Intuitionist Solution
In: History of Philosophy & Logical AnalysisSearch for other papers by Guido Löhrer in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
According to Plato’s Apology of Socrates, a humanly wise person is distinguished by her ability to correctly assess the epistemic status and value of her beliefs. She knows when she has knowledge or has mere belief or is ignorant. She makes no unjustified knowledge claims and considers her knowledge to be limited in scope and value. This means: A humanly wise person is intellectually modest. However, when interpreted classically, Socratic wisdom cannot be modest. For in classical epistemic logic, modelling second-order knowledge of knowing something or not, i.e. positive and negative introspection, requires a degree of self-transparency that would at most be attributed to an omniscient and infallible agent. If intellectual modesty is part of Socratic wisdom, we have to look for another epistemic model. I will offer three proposals and argue that an intuitionist reading of the classical concept of knowledge is best suited for this purpose.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Plato. Complete Works. Cooper, J.M. (ed., tr.) & Hutchinson, D.S. (ed., tr.), 1997.-. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett.
-
[Plato.] Apology. Emelyn, Jones, C. & Preddy, W. (eds., trs.), 2017. Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 85–193. [= Ap.]
-
[Plato.] Euthyphro, Apologia, Crito, Phaedo, Cratylus, Theaetetus,Sophista, Politicus. Platonis Opera I. Duke, E.A., Hicken, W.F., Nicoll, W.S.M., Robinson, D.B. & Strachan, J.C.B. (eds.), 1995. New York: Clarendon Press.
-
[Plato.] Theages, Charmides, Laches, Lysis, Euthydemus, Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno, Hippias Maior, Hippias Minor, Io, Menexenus. In: Burnet, I. (ed.), 1992. Platonis Opera III. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
-
[Plato.] Platonis Rempublicam. Slings, S.R. (ed.), 2003.Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
-
Artemov, S. & Protopopescu, T. 2016. Intuitionistic Epistemic Logic. The Review of Symbolic Logic 9(2) 266–298. DOI: 10.1017/S1755020315000374.
-
Artemov, S. & Fitting, M. Justification Logic. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition). URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/logic-justification/>.
-
Benson, H.H. 2000. Socratic Wisdom. The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s Early Dialogues. New York / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
-
Bommarito, N. 2018. Modesty and Humility. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/modesty-humility/>.
-
Fagin, R., Halpern, J.Y., Moses, Y. & Vardi, M.Y. 1995. Reasoning About Knowledge. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
-
Garson, J. 2013. Modal Logic for Philosophers. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press.
-
Garson J. 2021. Modal Logic. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition). URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/logic-modal/>.
-
Girard, P. & Rott, H. 2014. Belief Revision and Dynamic Logic. In: Baltag, A. & Smets, S. (eds.), Johan van Benthem on Logic and Information Dynamics. Cham: Springer, 203–233. DOI: 10.1007/978-973-319-06025 8.
-
Gochet, P. & Gribomont, P. 2006. Epistemic Logic. In: Gabbay, D.M. & Woods, J. (eds.), Logic and the Modalities in the Twentieth Century (Handbook of the History of Logic, vol. 7). Amsterdam: Elsevier, 99–195.
-
Halpern, J.Y. 1996. Should knowledge entail belief? Journal of Philosophical Logic 25(5), 483–494. DOI: 10.1007/BF00257382.
-
Hazlett, A. 2012. Higher-order epistemic attitudes and intellectual humility. Episteme 9(3), 205–223. DOI: 10.1017/epi.2012.11.
-
Larsson, S. 2004. The Magic of Negative Introspection. In: Svennerlind, C. (ed.), Ursus Philosophicus. Essays Dedicated to Björn Haglund, Philosophical Communications, Web Series 32, 132–136. URL: <http://www.phil.gu.se/posters/festskrift/festskrift_larssons.pdf>. Accessed: January 7, 2022.
-
Lehrer, K., & Smith, N. 1996. Introductory Essay. Knowledge, Teaching and Wisdom. In: Lehrer, K., Lum, J., Slichta, B.A. & Smith, N.D. (eds.), Knowledge, Teaching and Wisdom. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 3–17.
-
Lenzen, W. 1979. Epistemologische Betrachtungen zu [S4, S5]. Erkenntnis 14(1), 33–56.
-
Löhrer, G. 1997. Der perfekte Mord. Eine metaphysische Fiktion und ihre antirealis-tische Herausforderung. Conceptus 30(77), 165–180.
-
Löhrer, G. 2018. Über sokratische Weisheit als intellektuelle Bescheidenheit. Folia Philosophica. Ethica – Aesthetica – Practica 32, 141–163.
-
Martin-Löf, P. 1984. Intuitionistic Type Theory. Naples: Bibliopolis.
-
Martin-Löf, P. 1987. Truth of a Proposition, Evidence of a Judgement, Validity of a Proof. Synthese 73(3), 407–420.
-
Martin-Löf, P. 1991. A Path from Logic to Metaphysics. In: Corsi, G. & Sambin, G. (eds.), Atti del Congresso ‘Nuovi Problemi della Logica e della scienza’, vol. 2. Bologna: Cooperativa Libraria Universitaria Editrice Bologna, 141–149.
-
Martin-Löf, P. 1995. Verificationism Then and Now. In: DePauli-Schimanovich, W., Köhler, E. & Stadler, F. (eds.), The Foundational Debate: Complexity and Constructivity in Mathematics and Physics. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 187–196.
-
Martin-Löf, P. 1996. On the Meanings of the Logical Constants and the Justifications of the Logical Laws. Nordic Journal of Philosophical Logic 1(1), 11–60.
-
Popper, K.R. 1992. On Knowledge and Ignorance. Bennett (tr.). In: Popper, K.R., In Search of a Better World. Lectures and Essays from Thirty Years. London: Routledge, 30–43. Original Popper, K.R. 1979. Über Wissen und Nichtwissen. In: Popper, K.R. Auf der Suche nach einer besseren Welt. Vorträge und Aufsätze aus dreissig Jahren.
-
Rendsvig, R. & Symons, J. 2019. Epistemic Logic. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition). URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/logic-epistemic/>.
-
Rumsfeld, D.H. 2002. News Briefing. In: U.S.-Department of Defense, News Transcript, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, February 12, 2002. URL: <https://archive.ph/20180320091111/http://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2636>. Accessed: February 10, 2022.
-
Ryan, Shane. 2016. Wisdom: Understanding and the Good Life. Acta Analytica 31(3), 235–251. DOI: 10.1007/s12136-12015-0278-0274.
-
Ryan, Sharon. 1996. Wisdom. In: Lehrer, K., Lum, J., Slichta, B.A. & Smith, N.D. (eds.), Knowledge, Teaching, and Wisdom. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 233–242.
-
Ryan, Sharon. 1999. What is Wisdom?. Philosophical Studies 93(2), 119–139. DOI: 10.1023/A:1004257728638.
-
Ryan, Sharon. 2012. Wisdom, Knowledge, and Rationality. Acta Analytica 27(2), 99–112. DOI 10.1007/s12136–12012–0160–0166.
-
Ryan, Sharon. 2020. Wisdom. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition). URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/wisdom/>.
-
Sundholm, G. 2014. Constructive Recursive Functions, Church’s Thesis, and Brouwer’s Theory of the Creating Subject: Afterthoughts on a Parisian Joint Session. In: Dubucs, J. & Bourdeau, M. (eds.), Constructivity and Computability in Historical and Philosophical Perspective. Dordrecht – Paris: Springer, 1–35.
-
Tiberius, V. & Swartwood, J. 2011. Wisdom revisited: a case study in normative theorizing. Philosophical Explorations 14(3), 277–295. DOI: 10.1080/13869795.2011.594961.
-
Tiberius, V. 2012. Constructivism and Wise Judgment. In: Lenman, J. & Shemmer, Y. (eds.), Constructivism and Practical Philosophy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 195–212.
-
Troelstra, A.S. & van Dalen, D. 1988. Constructivism in Mathematics. An Introduction. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
-
Vlastos, G. 1994. Socratic Studies. Burnyeat, M. (ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
-
Westermann, H. 2002. Die Intention des Dichters und die Zwecke der Interpreten. Zu Theorie und Praxis der Dichterauslegung in den platonischen Dialogen [The poet’s intention and the interpreter’s purposes. On the theory and practice of poet interpretation in the Platonic dialogues]. Berlin: de Gruyter.
-
Williamson, T. 2000. Knowledge and Its Limits. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
-
Williamson, T. 2001. Some Philosophical Aspects of Reasoning about Knowledge. In: van Benthem, J. (ed.), Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge. San Francisco, CA.: Kaufmann, 97.
-
Whitcomb, D. 2011. Wisdom. In: Bernecker, S. & Pritchard, D. (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Epistemology. London: Routledge, 95–105.
-
Zagzebski, L.T. 1996. Virtues of the Mind. An Inquiry into the Nature of Virtue and the Ethical Foundations of Knowledge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 412 | 265 | 16 |
| Full Text Views | 16 | 11 | 3 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 29 | 10 | 0 |
Intellectual Modesty in Socratic Wisdom: Problems of Epistemic Logic and an Intuitionist Solution
In: History of Philosophy & Logical AnalysisSearch for other papers by Guido Löhrer in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
According to Plato’s Apology of Socrates, a humanly wise person is distinguished by her ability to correctly assess the epistemic status and value of her beliefs. She knows when she has knowledge or has mere belief or is ignorant. She makes no unjustified knowledge claims and considers her knowledge to be limited in scope and value. This means: A humanly wise person is intellectually modest. However, when interpreted classically, Socratic wisdom cannot be modest. For in classical epistemic logic, modelling second-order knowledge of knowing something or not, i.e. positive and negative introspection, requires a degree of self-transparency that would at most be attributed to an omniscient and infallible agent. If intellectual modesty is part of Socratic wisdom, we have to look for another epistemic model. I will offer three proposals and argue that an intuitionist reading of the classical concept of knowledge is best suited for this purpose.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 412 | 265 | 16 |
| Full Text Views | 16 | 11 | 3 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 29 | 10 | 0 |