Knowledge and Inquiry: Essays on the Pragmatism of Isaac Levi

Front Cover
Erik J. Olsson
Cambridge University Press, 2006 M02 13 - 384 pages
Isaac Levi has explored the principles of American pragmatism in greater depth and more consistency than others before him. The result is a sophisticated and powerful philosophical system whose key elements stand in stark opposition not only to mainstream epistemology, but also to the positions of other contemporary authors writing in the same pragmatist tradition. The essays in this volume, written by some of philosophy's finest scholars, contribute substantially to the understanding and appraisal of Levi's work. Included in this volume are Levi's extensive and provocative replies to his critics, which offer access to his thinking on a wide range of topics. The introduction provides a concise, systematic presentation of the cornerstone of Levi's pragmatism. Suitable for students and scholars who are interested in American pragmatism in general and Isaac Levi's work in particular, this book is an ideal companion to Levi's own writings.

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Contents

Isaac Levi and His Pragmatist Lineage
18
Is Pragmatist Truth Irrelevant to Inquiry?
32
The Knowledge Business
50
Infallibility and Incorrigibility
65
Levi on Risk
87
Vexed Convexity
97
Levis Chances
111
Isaac Levis Potentially Surprising Epistemological
125
DecisionTheoretic Contraction and Sequential Change
201
Deciding What You Know
225
Levis Ideals
241
Psychoanalysis as Technology
266
Levi on Money Pumps and Diachronic Dutch Books
289
Levi on the Reality of Dispositions
313
Replies
327
Index
381

Isaac Levi on Abduction
143
Potential Answers To What Question?
157

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