Reasons for Belief

Philosophers have long been concerned about what we know and how we know it. Increasingly, however, a related question has gained prominence in philosophical discussion: what should we believe and why? This volume brings together twelve new essays that address different aspects of this question. The essays examine foundational questions about reasons for belief, and use new research on reasons for belief to address traditional epistemological concerns such as knowledge, justification and perceptually acquired beliefs. This book will be of interest to philosophers working on epistemology, theoretical reason, rationality, perception and ethics. It will also be of interest to cognitive scientists and psychologists who wish to gain deeper insight into normative questions about belief and knowledge.

"This book focuses on what are called theoretical reasons. The topic of interest resides both in practical philosophy, where the importance of the ability to give reasons for action has long been recognized, and in several specific areas of epistemology, where reasons play important roles in regard to questions of justification, warrant, and epistemic entitlement.... Recommended.... Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty." --N.D. Smith, Lewis and Clark College, Choice

Andrew Reisner is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at McGill University. He has published a number of articles on theoretical reason and normativity. Asbjørn Steglich-Petersen is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Aarhus University. He has published widely in epistemology and metaphysics, and is editor of Metaphysics: 5 Questions (2011).