Classical Theism, Philosophy, and Religion Forum / Are there any scholastic writers on epistemology?

**Posted by Noble_monkey** 10/16/2018 8:47 pm

I am looking for any (preferably contempporary) scholastic epistemologists; specifically ones who have dealt with the problem of skepticism.

Thanks for any help.

Last edited by Noble_monkey (10/16/2018 8:47 pm)

**Posted by John West** 10/17/2018 3:10 am

Is there any specific skeptical problem you're looking for scholastic literature on? (I rather not just start lobbing manuals at you.)

**Posted by Noble_monkey** 10/17/2018 10:22 am

Yeah, I do have specific ones; perceptual skepticism (brain in a vat, evil demon), reliability of cognitive faculties (how do we know reason is reliable?).

Also do you have any on logic systems?

Thanks in advance

**Posted by John West** 10/18/2018 12:21 am

Oh, I hesitate to post because I don't actually have that high an opinion of Thomist views in philosophy of perception. But here you go:

Degrees of Knowledge by Jacques Maritain (here)
Methodical Realism by Etienne Gilson (here)
Thomist Realism and the Critique of Knowledge by Etienne Gilson
"Against the Skeptics: How Thomistic Realism Refutes Radical Skepticism" by Mario Derksen (here)

I listed some stuff on scholasticism and logic years and years ago on here (edit: here and here), but for now I guess just look for Coffey's book and maybe read Cotter's section in ABC of Scholastic Philosophy. You can find both in the Aquinas Resources post. If you're just looking to study logic though, get a textbook on modern logic instead.

**Posted by Noble_monkey** 10/18/2018 5:58 pm

Thanks dude.

**Posted by Greg** 10/29/2018 2:43 pm

James Ross's Thought and World and John O'Callaghan's Thomist Realism and the Linguistic Turn are both in part (or both can be read as) Thomist commentaries on some later analytic responses to skepticism (engaging with folks like McDowell and Putnam).