A new solution to the safety dilemma

Mortini, D. (2022) A new solution to the safety dilemma. Synthese, 200(2), 137. (doi: 10.1007/s11229-022-03626-w)

Abstract

Despite the substantial appeal of the safety condition, Kelp (J Philos Res 34:21–31, 2009; Am Philos Q 53:27–37; Good Thinking. A Knowledge First Virtue Epistemology, Routledge, London, 2018) has raised a difficult challenge for safety-theoretic accounts of knowledge. By combining Gettier-style fake barn cases with epistemic Frankfurt cases, he concludes that no formulation of safety can be strong enough to predict ignorance in the former and weak enough to accommodate knowledge in the latter. In this note, my contribution is two-fold. Firstly, I take up Kelp’s challenge and I show that, once properly understood, safety successfully rises to it. Secondly, I draw a more general lesson on the safety condition: a satisfactory solution to Kelp’s challenge calls for a revision of the standard formulation of safety, which must be indexed to both methods and environments. My conclusion will be that an environment-relative version of safety not only meets Kelp’s challenge, but it also advances our understanding of the safety condition on knowledge.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project has received generous funding from the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mortini, Mr Dario
• Authors: Mortini, D.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy
• Journal Name: Synthese
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0039-7857
• ISSN (Online): 1573-0964
• Published Online: 12 April 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Author
• First Published: First published in Synthese 200(): 137
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License