Knowing Our Limits

by Nathan Ballantyne

Overview

Changing our minds isn't easy. Even when we recognize our views are disputed by intelligent and informed people, we rarely doubt our rightness. Why is this so? How can we become more open-minded, putting ourselves in a better position to tolerate conflict, advance collective inquiry, and learn from differing perspectives in a complex world?

Nathan Ballantyne defends the indispensable role of epistemology in tackling these issues. For early modern philosophers, the point of reflecting on inquiry was to understand how our beliefs are often distorted by prejudice and self-interest, and to improve the foundations of human knowledge. Ballantyne seeks to recover and modernize this classical tradition by vigorously defending an interdisciplinary approach to epistemology, blending philosophical theorizing with insights from the social and cognitive sciences.

Many of us need tools to help us think more circumspectly about our controversial views. Ballantyne develops a method for distinguishing between our reasonable and unreasonable opinions, in light of evidence about bias, information overload, and rival experts. This method guides us to greater intellectual openness—in the spirit of skeptics from Socrates to Montaigne to Bertrand Russell—making us more inclined to admit that sometimes we don't have the right answers. With vibrant prose and fascinating examples from science and history, Ballantyne shows how epistemology can help us know our limits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190847289
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/19/2019
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	471,699
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Nathan Ballantyne received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Arizona and his B.A. (Hon) in Philosophy from Victoria College in the University of Toronto. He has published widely on contemporary epistemology in journals such as Mind, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and Philosophical Quarterly. He is Executive Editor of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy and is co-editor with David Dunning of Reason, Bias, and Inquiry: New Perspectives from the Crossroads of Epistemology and Psychology (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Epistemology and Inquiry
Chapter 2: Regulative Epistemology in the Seventeenth Century
Chapter 3: How do Epistemic Principles Guide?
Chapter 4: How to Know Our Limits
Chapter 5: Disagreement and Debunking
Chapter 6: Counterfactual Interlocutors
Chapter 7: Unpossessed Evidence
Chapter 8: Epistemic Trespassing
Chapter 9: Novices and Expert Disagreement
Chapter 10: Self-Defeat?
Chapter 11: The End of Inquiry
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"One can recognize that this is a brilliant, stimulating volume. I highly recommend it." — Manuel Pérez Otero, Metascience

"Nathan Ballantyne's wonderful and challenging book...is a thorough and convincing defense of intellectual modesty in response to the perils of our current age. Though popularized discussions of echo chambers, polarization, and cognitive biases seem to take for granted that the right response is the reduction of confidence, Ballantyne identifies and motivates the principled grounding for that recommendation. Anyone who hopes to remain comfortable with their strong controversial beliefs must reckon with the powerful challenges Ballantyne sets forth." — Jeremy Fantl, University of Calgary, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"A clear, direct, and accessible discussion of pursuing inquiry to best find the truth. Drawing broadly from philosophy, the cognitive and social sciences, and the humanities, Ballantyne provides an elegant and sharp-eyed analysis of how to ask questions of the world, seek proper advice from others, and wade wisely through controversy. The volume has much to say to inquiring souls and scholars both inside and outside philosophy who wish to know their limits yet expand beyond the ones they currently have." — David Dunning, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan

"Ballantyne's original and provocative book combines two projects: defending a 'regulative' or inquiry-guiding approach to epistemology, and carrying out that approach in a way that makes concrete progress. It is intellectually independent, patient with detail, and full of carefully chosen, telling examples. It is also engagingly written. And-refreshingly-it exemplifies the epistemic humility for which it advocates so persuasively." — David Christensen, Professor of Philosophy, Brown University

"I wish that more epistemology books were like Nathan Ballantyne's Knowing Our Limits. Its literary and historical sensibility; its patiently philosophical sensitivity; its dash of philosophical wisdom: all of this is less common within professional epistemology than is realistically possible, indeed desirable...This book is an exemplar of epistemology that is professionally alert without being merely professional. Many epistemology books, even very good ones, are narrowly academic; Ballantyne's very good book is not. (And this is a compliment.) Do not expect Knowing Our Limits to extend your technical reach as an epistemologist. No matter; it will lead you to some inviting and rewarding places unvisited by most such books." — Australasian Journal of Philosophy

"The questions that Nathan Ballantyne tackles in this terrific book are among the most important questions of our age. For example, how can we tell when our controversial beliefs are unreasonable? Why do intelligent, informed people reject our beliefs? Is it because they are biased? How can we know our own limits as inquirers? Unlike many philosophers of knowledge, Ballantyne focuses on the role of philosophy in providing inquirers with practical guidance. In particular, he offers a set of principles and observations intended to guide inquiry concerning controversial questions. His method helps us to confront our ignorance and shows us the difference between beliefs we have good reasons to doubt and those we don't. This book is not just an important contribution to philosophy. It also tells us how to improve our lives by helping us to use evidence to answer controversial questions. Highly recommended."—Quassim Cassam, Professor, University of Warwick, author of Vices of the Mind

"Ballantyne's Knowing Our Limits is an impressive and important monograph on regulative epistemology...The book is well-written, both stylistically and philosophically. It certainly passes the 'fun to read' test, which is rare for a philosophy book. It is interspersed with humor and it is loaded with literary allusions as well as fascinating examples from history and science. The virtues of clarity, tight argumentation, and accessible and persuasive prose are on display throughout." — Michael Bergmann, Faith and Philosophy

"Ballantyne does not describe his book as a work of applied epistemology. But it deserves to be recognized as such. Knowing Our Limits urges us to change our habits of inquiry in a way that I believe would significantly impact our approach to practical issues and our epistemic interactions with other people and institutions." — Journal of Applied Philosophy

"This book makes an exciting contribution to epistemology. Ballantyne's regulative approach marks an important contrast with much of the work being done in epistemology today. In addition, Ballantyne draws on work in social psychology to illuminate epistemological topics which have typically been pursued in isolation from empirical work, thereby illustrating dimensions of the topics he discusses which are not found elsewhere in the literature. This is an important piece of work." — Hilary Kornblith, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

From the Publisher