Lauener Foundation for Analytical Philosophy
Symposium
Thursday 30 May - Friday 31 May 2024
Haus der Universität, Bern, Switzerland
10th International Lauener Symposium on Analytical Philosophy
on Themes from Timothy Williamson
Dr. Corine Besson
(University of Sussex)
(University of London)
Williamson and the Epistemology of Logic
Tim Williamson is an anti-exceptionalist about logic. He thinks that the method of justification for logic is abductive, broadly the same as that used for justifying scientific theories. Anti-exceptionalism’s rival, exceptionalism, is often characterised by anti-exceptionalists as the view that logic is a priori, justified through rational intuition or conceptual understanding. I argue that there is much less of a conflict between the two views than is usually thought. This is because they are engaged in different epistemological projects: anti-exceptionalism is a view about how to go about justifying whole logical theories, while exceptionalism is a view about how we might be justified in believing certain basic logical principles.
