Virtue Epistemology of Ernest Sosa

Year 2016, Volume: 18 Issue: 34, 1 - 29, 14.12.2016

Kemal Batak

https://doi.org/10.17335/sakaifd.292618

Cited By: 1

Abstract

In this article, I explore the views of Ernest Sosa, a living analytic philosopher who developed a
virtue epistemology out of the contemporary virtue ethics. Virtue theory in ethics is personbased
rather than act-based; and similarly virtue theory in epistemology is person-based rather
than belief/proposition-based. In this way, Sosa who has defended person-based theory of
justification with the aid of intellectual virtue, developed a theory that can be an alternative to
foundationalism, coherentism and post-Gettier problems. The theory is a refined version of
reliabilism and its roots can be traced back to Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes and Reid in classical
epistemology and it also basically depends on epistemology of Alvin Goldman in contemporary
epistemology. One of the most important features of this epistemology is refrain from dichotomies
such as foundationalism/coherentism and internalism/externalism and try to surpass
polarization by reconciling them. Finally, virtue epistemology of Sosa defends epistemology as a
normative discipline against Quineist radical naturalized epistemology.

Keywords

Virtue epistemology, Ernest Sosa, Intellectual Virtue, Reliabilism, Normativity

ERNEST SOSA’NIN ERDEM EPİSTEMOLOJİSİ

Abstract

Öz

Bu  makalede  çağdaş  erdem  etiğinden  hareketle  bir  erdem  epistemolojisi  geliştiren  yaşayan 

analitik felsefecilerden Ernest Sosa’nın görüşlerini inceliyorum. Etikteki erdem teorisi fiil-temelli 

değil  kişi  temellidir;  benzer  şekilde,  epistemolojideki  erdem  teorisi de inanç/önerme temelli 

değil  kişi  temellidir.  Entelektüel  erdem  kavramıyla  kişi  temelli  gerekçelendirme  teorisi  savunan 

Sosa, bu yolla, temelciliğin, bağdaşımcılığın ve Gettier sonrası problemlerin alternatifi olabilecek 

bir teori geliştirmiştir. Kökleri klasik epistemolojide Aristoteles’te, Aquinas, Descartes ve Reid’de 

bulunabilecek,  çağdaş  epistemolojide  ise  temelde  Alvin  Goldman  epistemolojisine  dayanan  bu 

teori  güvenilirciliğin  arıtılmış  bir  versiyonudur.  Bu  epistemolojisinin  en  temel  özelliklerinden biri 

temelcilik/bağdaşımcılık,  içselcilik/dışsalcılık  gibi  dikotomilerden  kaçınması  ve  epistemolojideki 

kutuplaşmaları uzlaştırarak aşmaya çalışmasıdır. Son olarak, Sosa erdem epistemolojisi Quinecı 

radikal  doğallaştırılmış  epistemolojiye  karşı  epistemolojinin  normatif  bir  disiplin  olduğunu  savunur.

Keywords

Erdem epistemolojisi, Ernest Sosa, Entelektüel erdem, Güvenilircilik

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