Research Group: Epistemology

In this research cluster, we explore fundamental questions in epistemology concerning the nature of knowledge, the challenge of scepticism, and the scope of self-knowledge. Our work has appeared in numerous journals and collections, including Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Erkenntnis, Ratio, Philosophical Studies, Synthese, Analytic Philosophy, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, dialectica, Philosophical Issues, and International Journal for the Study of Skepticism. See our publication list for more details.

We have a particular interest in topics relating to epistemic normativity, topics such as epistemic value, the aims and norms of belief and assertion, and doxastic voluntarism and responsibility. At present, we are hosting a two-year AHRC-funded research project, titled Normativity: Epistemic and Practical, which explores the connections between the norms which govern us as inquirers and those which govern us as agents: https://blog.soton.ac.uk/normativity/

Current Research Student Profile:  Tsung-Hsing Ho

"My PhD thesis focuses on the nature of epistemic value. I argue that current research on epistemic value lacks from an adequate theory of value. I think that most of the debates in the literature on epistemic value result from the fact that epistemologists confuse different notions of value, such as intrinsic value and non-instrumental value. In my thesis I outline an adequate theory of value and apply it to the epistemic sphere. In addition to my work on epistemic value, I am also interested in the work of John McDowell and have papers on him forthcoming in the International Journal of Philosophical Studies, and the Proceedings of the Eleventh International Kant Congress."

The Illusion of Doubt by Professor Genia Schӧnbaumsfeld