The Pre-History of Kant’s Non-Evidentialism

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Marcus Willaschek, since 12/2019
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 400342608

Immanuel Kant is considered one of the chief figures in the history of non-evidentialism. As it is commonly understood, this view maintains that it is sometimes rationally permissible to hold a belief even though one lacks decisive evidence for its truth. Although Kant has always been regarded as a non-evidentialist of some sort, it is only recently that Kant scholars have analysed his position in detail, demonstrating its richness and contemporary relevance. Yet scholars have failed to consider the extent to which Kant’s non-evidentialism was influenced by views on non-epistemic justification which were defended by some of his predecessors and contemporaries. This gap in the literature must be filled, since these views can in fact illuminate Kant’s position in many respects. Therefore, the project aims to analyse the debates concerning practical, non-epistemic grounds for belief in 18th-century Germany prior to Kant. These debates are interesting not only because they can open up new perspectives on Kant, but also because 18th-century German philosophers devised complex and original accounts of practical grounds for belief that are far richer in detail than other more famous proposals. Moreover, the project will shed light on an application of practical, non-epistemic grounds for belief that was not discussed by Kant, that is, the appeal to practical grounds for belief for cognitions that are based on testimonial evidence. The objectives of the project are thus: (Obj1) to investigate discussions concerning practical, non-epistemic grounds for belief in the context of accounts of probable cognition in 18th-century Germany prior to Kant; and (Obj2) to shed light on debates regarding the legitimacy of these grounds for the special case of cognition obtained through testimony, taking into account the different ways in which this problem was applied in the disciplines of history, jurisprudence and hermeneutics.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. Gabriele Gava, until 12/2019