The HB Allen Centre, Keble College, 25 Banbury Road, Oxford
Professor Richard Pettigrew (Bristol): 'From a Point of View'
The Faculty is delighted to welcome Professor Richard Pettigrew as the John Locke lecturer of 2025. Richard is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bristol.
Lecture 1: 'Nothing but the truth: accuracy, epistemic value, and epistemic rationality'
In Lecture 1, I describe the nature and objects of uncertain beliefs, and I lay the groundwork for a teleological account of their rationality. Uncertain beliefs play at least two roles in our lives: they represent the world (their epistemic role); and they guide our actions (their pragmatic role). We can evaluate them by how well they play each, and we can combine our evaluations to assign them an all-things-considered value. I show that this allows us to justify a great many of the central norms that guide our rational thinking in science and in everyday life.
Please note: A drinks reception will follow this lecture.
Further information about the John Locke Lectures can be found on the John Locke Lectures page
