Wisdom and Knowledge
Keywords:
practical wisdom, epistemology, scepticism, virtueAbstract
A current debate in philosophy focusses on whether propositional knowledge is necessary for wisdom. In this paper I defend the view that propositional knowledge is necessary for wisdom. I call Weak Reductionism the view that propositional knowledge is merely necessary for wisdom, but not sufficient. I also examine two rival accounts of wisdom – Strong Reductionism, the view that propositional knowledge is both necessary and sufficient for wisdom, and Non-Reductionism, the view that propositional knowledge is neither necessary and nor sufficient for wisdom. I critique both of these views and find them wanting in light of various wisdom-related intuitions that we have.
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