Dimensions of Doubt. On the Nature, Logic and History of Doxastic Suspension

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Alexandra Zinke
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 441857706

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

We suspend belief with respect to many, perhaps even most, questions. Some questions we haven’t considered yet, others are pending further investigation, and still others don’t allow for a definite answer. I, for example, suspend belief in whether the number of letters on this page is odd or even (I don’t care), in whether God exists (I sometimes care, but it’s hard to say), and in whether my ticket will win in Saturday’s lottery (I definitely care, but I believe the lottery to be fair). We often suspend belief, and more importantly, we do so rationally. The project examined the notion of suspension, its rational profile, and its role in the history of philosophy. There were four subprojects: SUBPROJECT I aimed to explicate the conceptual and epistemological foundations of suspension of judgment. SUBPROJECT II discussed the rationality conditions of suspension. SUBPROJECT III analyzed the role of suspension of judgment in the history of philosophy, especially in Pyrrhonism, Cartesian skepticism, and Stoicism, while SUBPROJECT IV explored the notion of religious agnosticism with a focus on Sextus Empiricus and Nicholas of Cusa.

Publications

• (R.) Bett (trans.) Sextus Empiricus. How to Keep an Open Mind. An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic. Pp. l + 225. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2021. Cased, £13.99, US$16.95. ISBN: 978-0-691-20604-2.. The Classical Review, 72(1), 360-360.
  Schmitt, Johanna
  
• 2021: “Doubt and Decision,” Benz-Stiftung, Ladenburg (online)
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2021: “Formal Representations of Suspension,” RWTH Aachen (online)
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2021: “Ohne Zweifel ungewiss. Zur Rationalität der Urteilsenthaltung,” Duisburg–Essen (online)
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2021: “Pyrrhonian epoché in the light of recent theories of suspension”, Sextus’ Logic in Context, Tübingen (online)
  Zinke, A. & W. Freitag
  
• 2021: “Rational Suspension,” Concept, University of Cologne (online)
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2021: “Suspension of Judgment in Pyrrhonian and Cartesian Skepticism”. Maimonides Lecture, Hamburg, University of Hamburg (online)
  Zinke, A. & W. Freitag
  
• 2021: “Varieties of Rational Suspension,” XXV. Kongress der DGPhil, Erlangen–Nürnberg (online)
  Zinke, A.
  
• Rational Suspension. Theoria, 87(5), 1050-1066.
  Zinke, Alexandra
  
• 2022: “De-Framing Reality. Suspension in Theater and Art”. Reproducing Realities, University of Stuttgart
  Zinke, A. & K. Thomas
  
• 2022: “Entschieden unentschieden. Überlegungen zur Urteilsenthaltung,” Antrittsvorlesung, University of Frankfurt
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: Sextus Empiricus über Vorbegriffe von Gott und religiöse Urteilsenthaltung, Suspension Workshop, University of Marburg
  Bromand, J.
  
• 2023: “A New but Puzzling Condition for Agglomeration in Probabilistic Support,” CLMPST17, Buenos Aires
  Koscholke, J.
  
• 2023: “Doubt and Decision,” Ringvorlesung Philosophie, University of Frankfurt
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: “Entschieden unentschieden. Überlegungen zur Urteilsenthaltung,” Departmental Colloquium, University of Saarbrücken
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: “Epistemic Tantalus and Radical Suspension,” Epistemic Dilemmas, Normative Conflicts, and Epistemic Normativity, TU Dortmund
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: “Pyrrhonische epoché und moderne Theorien der Urteilsenthaltung,” Frankfurt/Gießen-Workshop, University of Frankfurt
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: “Sextus Empiricus’ höherstufige Zweifel,” Frankfurt–Mannheim Meeting in Theoretical Philosophy, University of Mannheim
  Bromand, J.
  
• 2023: “Sextus on Preconceptions of the Divine and the Meaningfulness of Religious Claims,” Konferenz Perspectives on Neutrality II, University of Frankfurt
  Bromand, J.
  
• 2023: “Suspension and Inquiry,” Perspectives on Neutrality II, University of Frankfurt
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2023: “Urteilsenthaltung & Untersuchung. Dimensionen des Zweifels in der Philosophie,” Suspension Workshop, University of Marburg
  Zinke, A.
  
• Hesse’s Condition for Transitivity of Probabilistic Support: A Friendly Reminder. Erkenntnis, 90(2), 777-787.
  Koscholke, Jakob
  
• Schülerrelativismus und Urteilsenthaltung. Argumentieren im Philosophie- und Ethikunterricht, 39-52. V&R unipress.
  Zinke, Alexandra
  
• Von der ›Logik des Glaubens‹ zur parakonsistenten Theologie. Religionsphilosophie heute, 453-480. Verlag Karl Alber.
  Bromand, Joachim
  
• 2024: “A New but Puzzling Condition for Agglomeration in Bayesian Confirmation,” Cologne–Frankfurt Epistemology Meeting
  Koscholke, J.
  
• 2024: “Agglomeration Conditions for Bayesian Confirmation,” Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona
  Koscholke, J.
  
• 2024: “The Value of Inquiry,” Philosophinnenkolloquium, University of Frankfurt
  Zinke, A.
  
• 2024: “Wann sich die Suche lohnt. Der epistemische Wert von Information,” Departmental Colloquium, University of Mannheim
  Zinke, A.
  
• Alan Author strikes again: More on confirming conjunctions of disconfirmed hypotheses. Analysis, 85(2), 359-369.
  Koscholke, Jakob
  
• How Prevalent is Transitivity-Failure in Bayesian Confirmation?. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
  Koscholke, Jakob
  
• Wittgenstein and the liar. Synthese, 204(1).
  Bromand, Joachim
  
• “Suspending Judgement on Gods and on the Meaningfulness of Religious Language in Pyrrhonism,” Suspension in Epistemology and Beyond, Hegne
  Bromand, J.
  
• Assent and Suspension of Assent to Kataleptic Impressions*. Suspension in Epistemology and Beyond, 245-261. Routledge.
  Schmitt, Johanna Helene
  
• Rational Inquiry, Suspension, and Stability*. Suspension in Epistemology and Beyond, 144-161. Routledge.
  Zinke, Alexandra
  
• Suspending Judgment on Gods and on the Meaningfulness of Religious Language in Pyrrhonism*. Suspension in Epistemology and Beyond, 225-244. Routledge.
  Bromand, Joachim
  
• Suspension in Epistemology and Beyond. Routledge.
  Wagner, Verena & Zinke, Alexandra
  
• Suspension and Scepticism. History of Philosophy & Logical Analysis, 1-17.
  Freitag, Wolfgang & Zinke, Alexandra