Critical Notice of Volume on Pyrrhonism

Those who can read Dutch might be interested to know that Jan Willem Wieland recently wrote a critical notice of the volume Pyrrhonism in Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary Philosophy (Springer, 2011) for Tijdschrift voor Filosofie 74 (2012).

Camus and Skepticism

A couple of days ago, I read this very nice paper by Carlos Lévy: "Albert Camus entre scepticisme et humanisme", Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé 2002: 352-362. Lévy compares the outlooks of Camus and Pyrrho. His interpretation of the latter's philosophy is heavily influenced by the interpretation defended by Marcel Conche in Pyrrhon et l'apparence (PUF, 2nd ed. 1994). What I like the most in this paper is the analysis of how the main characters of L'étranger, La peste, La Chute, and Caligula deal with the recognition of the absurdity of life.

Skepticism and Disagreement

I'm pleased to announce the publication of the volume Disagreement and Skepticism (Routledge).  Here's the blurb:

Disagreement is a pervasive feature of human life whose skeptical implications have been emphasized particularly by the ancient Pyrrhonists and by contemporary moral skeptics. Although the connection between disagreement and skepticism is also a focus of analysis in the emerging and burgeoning area of epistemology concerned with the significance of controversy, it has arguably not received the full attention it deserves. The present volume explores for the first time the possible skeptical consequences of disagreement in different areas and from different perspectives, with an emphasis in the current debate over the epistemic impact of disagreement. The thirteen new essays collected here examine the Pyrrhonian approach to disagreement and its relevance to the present epistemological discussions of the topic; the relationship between disagreement and moral realism and antirealism; disagreement-based skeptical arguments in contemporary epistemology; and disagreement and the possibility of philosophical knowledge and justified belief. Given the ever-growing interest in both the significance of disagreement and the challenge of skepticism, this volume makes a new contribution by conjugating two important trends in current philosophical research.

Skepticism about Reason

In his recent book, In Praise of Reason (MIT Press, 2012), Michael Lynch defends the practical value of reason against skepticism. From what I've been able to see thus far, the book is highly recommended. More information can be found here.

Skepticism and Epistemic Closure

The latest issue of Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (85/3, 2012) contains Sven Rosenkranz's "Radical Skepticism and Epistemic Closure," which can be found here.

Issue 2/2 of IJSS

Issue 2/2 of the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now available online here.

I take this opportunity to remind you that, as of next year, each volume will consist of four issues instead of two, which will allow us to deal with our backlog of accepted papers. And with the new volume, we will also  start publishing special issues; some of these will be devoted to ethical skepticism; hinge epistemology; Thompson Clarke; and Pyrrhonism, voluntarism & science.

Sextus and Aristotle

The latest issue of the French journal Philosophie antique (12, 2012) contains Emidio Spinelli's "Sextus Empiricus et l'ombre longue d'Aristote". Here's the abstract in French:

"Cet article s’intéresse en premier lieu à quelques passages des Esquisses pyrrhoniennes de Sextus (I 1-3 ; 8-10 ; III 119-122). Ces « études de cas » permettent d’examiner la relation dialectique entre Sextus et Aristote. Le Stagirite y est représenté à la fois comme une sorte de primus inter dogmaticos pares, et par conséquent comme une cible privilégiée des attaques pyrrhoniennes contre les dogmatismes, et, de façon indirecte, comme une sorte d’« ombre » se profilant derrière l’attitude critique de Sextus. Parallèlement, la stratégie de Sextus consiste à utiliser le matériel aristotélicien à l’appui soit de l’attitude propre à l’agoge sceptique, soit de la construction d’une diaphonia spécifique. En second lieu, la section finale de l’article examine en outre un passage difficile du Contre les moralistes (XI 77-78), proposant une correction qui permettrait, en éliminant le nom d’Aristote, d’y voir une citation d’Ariston."

Conference at the ENS de Lyon

Yesterday I arrived in Lyon where I'll stay until Thursday. Tomorrow begins the conference on Skepticism and Epicureanism organized at the ENS by Stéphane Marchand and Pierre-Marie Morel. I'm glad I could see again people with whom I'm in frequent contact but only via email.

Skepticism and Reliabilism

A couple of months ago, the following book came out:

José Zalabardo, Scepticism and Reliable  Belief (OUP, 2012).

Complete information can be found here.

Special Issue of Synthese

The November issue of Synthese is devoted to skepticism and justification. The issue can be accessed for free here.

Disjunctivism

Those working particularly on external world skepticism will be interested in these two very recent books:

D. Pritchard, Epistemological Disjunctivism (OUP, 2012). More information can be found here.

M. Willaschek (ed.), Disjunctivism: Disjunctive Accounts in Epistemology and in the Philosophy of Perception (Routledge, 2012). More information can be found here.

Conference on Skepticism and Epicureanism

On November 13-14, the ENS of Lyon will hold the conference "Épicurisme et Scepticisme", organized by Stéphane Marchand and Pierre-Marie Morel. For complete information, you can either click on the image below or go here.

New Translation of Sextus's Against the Physicists

Last month, CUP published Richard Bett's translation of Sextus Empiricus's Against the Physicists. More information can be found here. I haven't taken a look at the translation yet, but I'll try to get a copy soon. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first English translation of the two books of Against the Physicists since Bury's (1936).

Conference on Skepticism and Politics

On October 16-17, the Université Pierre-Mendès-France will hold the conference "Scepticismes en politique". Click on the images below for complete information.