Toward An Epistemology of Wise Judgment

Philo, 10: 2, pg. 136-148.

by Patrick McKee

The term “wise” applied to judgments is honorific, suggesting special epistemic achievement. That achievement consists in making a judgment on the basis of an aspect of inner experience I call “seeing through illusion.”  I analyze the inner experience of “seeing through illusion,” then use it to develop a moderate internalist theory of wise judgment. The theory illuminates examples of wise judgment, explains ordinary intuitions we have about it, and can be defended against objections.  This suggests that an epistemology of wise judgment can be developed in terms of existing epistemological concepts.

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