The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing
Abstract In "Knowing What Things Are", A. Abath’s account of knowledge has two main features. Firstly, it is inquiry-based or erotetic: knowledge is to be understood in terms of answers to questions of the form “What is x?” Secondly, it is contextualist: answers to questions of the form “w...
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas
2025-04-01
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| author | LEONARDO DE MELLO RIBEIRO |
| author_facet | LEONARDO DE MELLO RIBEIRO |
| author_sort | LEONARDO DE MELLO RIBEIRO |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In "Knowing What Things Are", A. Abath’s account of knowledge has two main features. Firstly, it is inquiry-based or erotetic: knowledge is to be understood in terms of answers to questions of the form “What is x?” Secondly, it is contextualist: answers to questions of the form “what is x?” are dependent on contextual factors, as they should be evaluated as true and satisfactory given the specific purposes (or goals) of an inquiry. Here I focus on the contextualist component of Abath's account. I argue that there is a tension between the descriptive account Abath advocates in chapters 1-5 and the normative account developed in chapters 6-7. I argue, in particular, that Abath's contextualism faces trouble when applied to knowledge of strongly social kinds and moral/political obligations, which are inherently normative. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-91f61937c66a4401983cf2ea488f81fe |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2317-630X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Estadual de Campinas |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Manuscrito |
| spelling | doaj-art-91f61937c66a4401983cf2ea488f81fe2025-08-20T02:08:43ZengUniversidade Estadual de CampinasManuscrito2317-630X2025-04-0148210.1590/0100-6045.2025.v48n2.lrThe Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of KnowingLEONARDO DE MELLO RIBEIROhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5912-2921Abstract In "Knowing What Things Are", A. Abath’s account of knowledge has two main features. Firstly, it is inquiry-based or erotetic: knowledge is to be understood in terms of answers to questions of the form “What is x?” Secondly, it is contextualist: answers to questions of the form “what is x?” are dependent on contextual factors, as they should be evaluated as true and satisfactory given the specific purposes (or goals) of an inquiry. Here I focus on the contextualist component of Abath's account. I argue that there is a tension between the descriptive account Abath advocates in chapters 1-5 and the normative account developed in chapters 6-7. I argue, in particular, that Abath's contextualism faces trouble when applied to knowledge of strongly social kinds and moral/political obligations, which are inherently normative.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-60452025000200405&lng=en&tlng=enA. J. AbathContextualismErotetic amelioration |
| spellingShingle | LEONARDO DE MELLO RIBEIRO The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing Manuscrito A. J. Abath Contextualism Erotetic amelioration |
| title | The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing |
| title_full | The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing |
| title_fullStr | The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing |
| title_short | The Thing That Should (Not) Be: On André J. Abath’s Ways of Knowing |
| title_sort | thing that should not be on andre j abath s ways of knowing |
| topic | A. J. Abath Contextualism Erotetic amelioration |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-60452025000200405&lng=en&tlng=en |
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