Explicating the concept of epistemic rationality

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Mind
• Epistemology
• Decision Theory

Background:

• Epistemic rationality is central to theories of rationality.
• Characterizing epistemic rationality typically involves conceptual clarification.
• Existing theories often lack a clear consideration of their intended purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explicate the concept of epistemic rationality.
• To highlight the importance of normativity and purpose in rationality theories.
• To propose an instrumentalist framework for understanding rationality.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of epistemic rationality.
• Instrumentalist approach to theories of rationality.
• Focus on the purposes of guiding and assessing doxastic states.

Main Results:

• The normativity and purpose are essential for explicating rationality.
• An instrumentalist position allows for diverse characterizations of rationality.
• Different purposes necessitate different theories of rationality.

Conclusions:

• The explication of rationality should be sensitive to its intended use.
• A pluralistic view of rationality accommodates various theoretical approaches.
• Theories of rationality can be tailored for guiding or assessing doxastic states.