Type
Article
Abstract
Are there general precepts governing when philosophers should not conduct inquiry on a given topic? When, if ever, should a philosopher just be silent? In this paper we look at a number of practical, epistemic, and moral arguments for philosophical silence. Some are quite general, and suggest that it is best never to engage in philosophical inquiry, while others are more domain – or context – specific. We argue that these arguments fail to establish their conclusions. We do, however, try to identify and defend several substantive constraints on philosophical dialogue and inquiry. In practice, though, respecting these constraints needn’t lead to much philosophical silence.
Language
English
Department(s)
Philosophy
Journal or Book Title
Philosophy : the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy
Publication Year
2012
DOI
10.1017/S0031819112000034
Publisher
The Royal Institute of Philosophy
Rights Management
Carleton College does not own the copyright to this work and the work is available through the Carleton College Library following the original publisher policies regarding self-archiving. For more information on the copyright status of this work, refer to the current copyright holder.
RoMEO Color
Green
Preprint Archiving
Yes
Postprint Archiving
Yes
Publisher PDF Archiving
No
Contributing Organization
Carleton College
Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Decker, Jason, and Charles Taliaferro. "When Should Philosophers Be Silent?." Philosophy : the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, 87, no.2 (2012): 163-187. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031819112000034. Accessed via Faculty Work. Philosophy. Carleton Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.carleton.edu/phil_faculty/1
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031819112000034
