Hinge Epistemology

Annalisa Coliva
Philosophy
UC Irvine

Duncan Pritchard
Philosophy
UC Irvine

The conference focused on “hinge epistemology”, a growing trend in epistemology that builds on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea, presented in On Certainty, that “the questions that we raise, and our doubts, depend on the fact that some propositions are exempt from doubt, are as it were like hinges on which those turn.” The conference investigated several issues concerning the interpretation of Wittgenstein’s work, its philosophical context and its connections to other philosophers’ views. Furthermore, it explored its various possible developments within present-day epistemology, with special attention to the problem of external world skepticism, the role of hinges vis-à-vis a theoretical account of knowledge, their relevance to social epistemology, and their bearing onto epistemic contextualism and relativism.