The Problem of Meta-epistemic Disagreement

Abstract

In this work I develop what I call the problem of meta-epistemic disagreement. I argue that there is a kind of apparent intractable disagreement, embodied in recent disputes between internalists and externalists about epistemic justification, which calls for an explanation. I claim that such disagreement suggests adopting some form of antirealism about justification, construed as the denial of a single objective property denoted by 'justification'. I argue that each of the following antirealist positions about justification fails to explain meta-epistemic disagreement: nihilism, an ambiguity view, contextualism, relativism, and expressivism. In the final chapter I suggest a form of pluralism about justification that vindicates epistemic realism and addresses the problem of meta-epistemic disagreement.