Review of a book summarizing recent trends in epistemology (the philosophy of knowledge). Even if you don't read the book, which is composed of new papers describing mainstream, formal, and programmatic approaches to epistemology, the review will give you an outline. It's heady reading, though, so prepare to spend some time with it. What interests me most is the discussion of coherence and reliabilist theories of knowledge. These theories have been dominating the literature recently. The most extended discussion is of the last two papers, which together constitute a description of 'teleological naturalism': "cognitive systems have goal-states in the very same way other bodily systems (such as the digestive system) have goal-states." All very well, but what are the goal-states of cognitive systems, and how do we evaluate between differences in goal states (you love cheese, I hate it) and maladaptive goal-states (I love bacon and food cooked in trans-fats). See also: Philosophical Knowledge: Its Possibility and Scope.
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