Ernest Sosa: Externalism
Ernest Sosa likes externalism. He thinks that it is intuitively correct.
But he must and does agree that it must be clarified in order to avoid certain
problems. So, his mission in this paper is to first define what he calls
"Generic Reliabilism," then to show how it is susceptible to certain objections,
then to present a modified version of it, and to show that this new version is,
in general, better than its predecessor. Let us look at his argument.
First, we get the usual definition of generic reliabilism: S is
justified in his belief that p at t if the belief is produced by some faculty
that usually produces true beliefs. Then, we get a couple of Alvin Goldman's
notions of justification with Sosa's revisions. A belief is strongly justified
iff it is well formed, and by means of a truth conducive process. A belief is
weakly justified iff it is "blameless" (not the result of an intentional
mistake?) but ill-formed, and the believer is not aware that the belief is ill-
formed. A belief is superweakly justified iff the process that produces the
belief is unreliable but the subject did not intentionally come to hold the
belief because it was acquired unreliably. And, finally, a belief has strong
meta-justification iff the subject neither believes that nor can determine if
the belief is ill-formed (hence the "meta-" prefix), and the subject is aware of
the process by which he got the belief and that the process is reliable.
OK, seems reasonable enough. But, Sosa points out, there are a couple of
scenarios (actually, three, but Sosa concentrates mainly on the two listed
below) in which these conceptions of justification just do not work. The "new
evil demon" problem takes a couple of forms in the article, but what it amounts
to is that if a person S attains beliefs through something other than his usual
faculties (e.g. senses, reasoning, etc.) like evil demons or random neurological
stimulators, or whatever, then that person's beliefs are not attained through a
reliable process (we are assuming that demons are, as usual, not benevolent
bearers of truth). But, we do not want to say, or at least Sosa doesn't, that
the deceived believer is completely unjustified in his beliefs; so, what level
of justification do we assign to his situation? If, by some amazing coincidence,
the random processes or demons generate a consistent and coherent set of beliefs,
then we can say that the subject is weakly and meta- justified. But, t hat
situation is not very likely, and thus we need the notion of superweak
It is crucial that every belief must be thoroughly explored and justified to avoid any future repercussions. Clifford provides two examples in which, regardless of the outcome, the party that creates a belief without comprehensive justification ends up at fault. It is possible to apply the situations in The Ethics of Belief to any cases of belief and end up with the conclusion that justification is of utmost importance. Justifying beliefs is so important because even the smallest beliefs affect others in the community, add to the global belief system, and alter the believer moral compass in future decisions.
The term justified belief refers to belief that is formed by the existence of proper evidence and logic. William K Clifford tells us of a story of a ship owner and deaths caused by his unjustified beliefs.
Michael Rubinkam’s “Texting in class is Rampant” brings awareness to the fact that most students use their phones during a lecture to text. Many professors are starting to notice it and some have even gone to extremes by having punishments if they see a phone out. Michael Rubinkam conducted a number of surveys with students who attend Wilkes University to see how many students actually use their phones during class. The author also discusses with some professors at the university to see their opinion on how phone use in class can impact the student’s education and how it impacts them as well. There is no doubt that texting is a habit most high school and college students face. It’s our primary way of communication with people. We get so addicted to texting people considering it only takes a few seconds to reply, but with that being said does it interfere with our school life too? Sitting in a lecture and pulling your phone out can be distracting because you’re not paying attention to the professor and the skills they’re teaching you’re practically in your own world at that point. Is the excessive use of texting in class-harming student’s education? The author
and that it can in fact be reasonable to hold a belief without sufficient evidence. Both
The devil has taken on many forms in both legend and media throughout history. Whether it is a con-man in a suit, or a vicious minotaur-like monster, the devil has been a representation of human evil since his conception. Satan in both Dante’s Inferno and Peter Cook’s Bedazzled is seen as an evil figure forced into an eternity of punishment, yet sympathetic because of this. However, both representations of the devil differ in how much power Satan is allotted. As humanity continues to define true evil, it must decide for itself how much power it allows evil in this world.
Those who have belief were taught it or learn in a formal setting. It can be changed, altered or
The question of identity regarding God and the Devil has been an ongoing dilemma for religious philosophers. No true identity can be formed due to the lack of undeniable evidence surrounding the figures. In addition, it has always been difficult to relate either characters to tangible or worldly matter; seeing how both are non-perceivable and equivocal figments in our minds. A start is to relate these supernatural beings to each other. The abilities of each are in contrast; God can create but not control, whereas, the Devil can control but not create. Creation is the act of making new matter, whereas the act of controlling is forcing matter to act based on the wishes of the controller.
I agree with the statement Benjamin Anastas makes about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “self-reliance” of how it is “the most pernicious piece of literature in the American canon” (Anastas 602-603). One reason why I agree with Anastas is that Emerson believes the people are timid and apologetic and do not have opinions of their own. Another reason why I stand alongside Anastas is that Emerson thinks people are afraid of each other and the truth(s) that others have are but quotes from a saint or sage. My final reason that I believe Anastas is correct is due to Emerson believing our society does not gain anything new that makes life worth living.
...ary manner which does not perfectly correlate with our beliefs and desires, but which none the less allows beliefs and desires to fulfill the same causal roles in producing behavior. [BACK UP]
Cell phones are harming education and causing grades to be lower than what they could be. The other day I got out of class early in the business building, as I usually do. I was walking down the hallway, back to my dorm, as I walked across a classroom that I happened to look inside. As the professor was in the front of the classroom giving his lesson for that day, I noticed that about fifteen of twenty students had their phones out not paying one little ounce of attention to the professor. I do not know about you, but I can not read a status on Facebook and retain the information that my professor is giving me, but that is just me.
“There are almost 180 million cell phone users and it is rapidly expanding” (Betancourt). Nearly every student in the United States owns a cell phone. Cell phones have been around for forty years. The first cell phone was placed by Martin Cooper in 1973. Cell phones become increasingly popular as the twenty-first century technology becomes more advance. People in younger generation rely on cell phone to accomplish basic needs. Some even becomes addictive to the cell phone. For example, I have a cousin who considers cell phone as an important part of her daily life. If I ask her to put away her cell phone, she would complain “I can’t live without my cell phone.” Cell phone should be prevented from using excessively because if cell phone is used in an improper way, it would ultimately becomes a distraction device for students. Therefore, students would be lack in interpersonal relationship, distracted during class, which can lead to academic failure, and distracted while driving, which can lead to serious accident and death. The negative impacts of cell phone on students are significant matters that need to be addressed.
Teachers are finding it harder and harder to separate a student from their cell phones for eight hours. Cellular devices and social media have become a number one priority for many people across the world. Due to the fact that the student will not put down their phones during school hours, their grades tend to be lower, which could, in the long run, affect their chances of getting into college. The use of cell phones does not strictly affect younger generations, it also had major influence on adults at the
To begin with, cell phones are problematic in classrooms because they become distractions to both the students using the phone and to those that are trying to learn. In either case, they will both miss out on the opportunity to learn. According to M. Beth Humble-Thaden, “Cell phones ringing during a class time present unwanted distractions and, for some students, sending or receiving text messages can lead to cheating” (10). The usage of cell phones will also cause students to go off task and not give their school assignment the attention that it deserves,
Some of the objections, such as the ones made by Edmund Gettier, claim that three conditions are not nearly enough to justify a true belief, and that at the very least a fourth must be added. Gettier presents a very valid criticism of the JTB theory of knowledge, and his counter examples highlight flaws in the JTB theory that make it an inadequate theory of knowledge. Gettier claims takes an issue with the third part of the JTB theory, which states that proposition P must be true. Gettier makes the interesting observation that person S may very well be justified in believing in proposition P even if P is false
Furthermore, as more people get cell phones and spend more time using them, the number of injuries will increase. Not to mention, when people are on their cell phones the number of times a participant looks right or left decreases by twenty percent and the risk of getting hit increases to forty-three percent (Lazaros). Granted, people are not only talking and texting while walking, but also being perturbed by social media and playing games, too. Moreover, cell phones are distracting to kids’ education. Of course, students in school are distracted in class when they send and receive text messages. Additionally, cell phone use in class can lead to difficulty in school and a decline in grades ("The Cell Phone Zone"). The question still remains rather or not devices should be allowed in school or not. Additionally, text messaging can be used to cheat. Students who are texting are not able to pay attention in class and can disrupt everyone. Although cell phones are very convenient and a