A critical discussion of themes in Annalisa Coliva’s book, Extended Rationality.

What is it about?

The discussion highlights the need to distinguish between perceptions and the experiences implicated by perceptions, noting that Coliva’s framework makes perception irrelevant to justified belief, except for being the contingent means by which we are furnished with experiences that are the real source of justified belief. It then addresses two issues concerning what Coliva calls the problem of cognitive locality. The problem concerns what enables us rationally to suppose that our perceptual experiences mostly put us in touch with reality. The issues addressed are: (1) whether, assuming that there is a problem of cognitive locality, Coliva’s position adequately addresses it; and (2) whether Coliva gives us enough to make sense of the claim, central to her position, that certain background presuppositions are constitutive of empirical rationality.

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Photo by Donald Wu on Unsplash

Photo by Donald Wu on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The essay addresses fundamental issues central to contemporary epistemology.