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published on August 5, 2014
Evan Butts
Slim Is In:
An Argument for a Narrow Conception of Abilities in Epistemology
Ability is a key notion in much contemporary externalist epistemology. Various authors have argued that there is (at least) an ability condition on knowledge (e.g., Ernest Sosa, John Greco, Alan Millar, and Duncan Pritchard). Moreover, epistemic justification is also arguably tied to ability. Yet there is not total agreement amongst the interested parties about the conditions under which subjects possess abilities, nor the conditions under which a subject who possesses an ability exercises or manifests it. Here, I will address what conditions must obtain for a subject to possess an ability.