Programme of Events 2023-24
RESCHEDULED FOR 17 AUGUST: 'Enquiry' Seminar Series
Location: By Zoom
Guest Speaker: Simon Wimmer (TU Dortmund)
Title: 'Cook Wilson's Inquiry Argument for the Indefinability of Knowledge'
Cook Wilson's Inquiry Argument for the Indefinability of Knowledge
Can knowledge be defined? In his (1926) Statement and Inference, John
Cook Wilson answers 'no' to this question. He offers two arguments for
his answer. The first turns on the claim that definitions of knowledge
will inevitably be circular; the second on the claim that we cannot even
inquire into what the definition of knowledge is. This paper focuses on
the second of these arguments. We attempt a detailed reconstruction of
the argument and survey what might be said in defense of its central
premises.
Cook Wilson answers 'no' to this question. He offers two arguments for
his answer. The first turns on the claim that definitions of knowledge
will inevitably be circular; the second on the claim that we cannot even
inquire into what the definition of knowledge is. This paper focuses on
the second of these arguments. We attempt a detailed reconstruction of
the argument and survey what might be said in defense of its central
premises.