Epistemological Naturalism and Coherentism

0191004
Project Director dr. sc. Zvonimir Čuljak

Summary:
This project aims, first of all, to diagnose some insufficiencies in Gettier’s counterexamples and demonstrate that at least some of those examples do not refute the traditional definition of knowledge; second, to elaborate the interrelationships among moderate forms of naturalism and coherentism (externalism and internalism); and, finally, to show the importance, for contemporary research in the field of epistemology, of employing a combined approach, incorporating the achievements of cognitive psychology and the philosophy of science, as well as careful study of classic works on the theory of knowledge. In this overall context, the attempt will be made, using the conceptual appparatus of naturalistic and coherentistic epistemology, to clarify the concept of knowledge as justified valid belief. Research being conducted unter the auspices of this project concerns further: the naturalistic understanding of a priori knowledge; the interrelationships among reliablism and coherentism, externalism and pragmatism; the epistemology of Plato and a hermeneutic theory of coherency; and contemporary epistemology of virtue. Besides the project director, Zvonimir Čuljak, research on this project is being conducted by Jure Zovko, and project assistent Laura Blažetić.