[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-160512-en":3,"doc-seo-160512-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},160512,962084925782,"Chloe Bennett","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc",8,"Research & Report","Infinite Regress Arguments - Core arguments and their evaluation","Infinite Regress Arguments (IRAs) are influential philosophical tools used across epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and metaphysics to challenge claims about causes, desire, justification, meaning, and knowledge-how. The work asks what an IRA precisely is and how such arguments should be assessed. It develops and compares the Paradox Theory and the Failure Theory, then tests their insights in two detailed case studies: Carroll’s Tortoise and Access with the Shirker Problem.","Infinite Regress Arguments  \nJan Willem Wieland  \nVU University Amsterdam [j](jjwwieland@gmail.com)[jwwieland@gmail.com](jjwwieland@gmail.com)  \n2014 Springer  \n[http://www.springer.com/978-3-319-06205-1](http://www.springer.com/978-3-319-06205-1)  \nContents  \n1. Introduction  \n1.1. Overview  \n1.2. Two Examples  \n1.3. Overview of Classic Cases  \n1.4. Two Desiderata  \n2. The Paradox Theory  \n2.1. Use  \n2.2. Evaluation  \n2.3. Classic Instances  \n2.4. Logical Analysis  \n3. The Failure Theory  \n3.1. Use  \n3.2. Evaluation  \n3.3. Classic Instances  \n3.4. Concluding Remarks  \n3.5. Logical Analysis  \n4. Case Study: Carroll’s Tortoise  \n4.1. The Renewed Tortoise  \n4.2. Stage Setting  \n4.3. Four Solutions  \n4.4. Three Hypotheses  \n4.5. Concluding Remark  \n5. Case Study: Access and the Shirker Problem 5.1. Access  \n5.2. The Loophole  \n5.3. Paradox Analysis  \n5.4. Failure Analysis  \n5.5. Concluding Remarks  \n1. Introduction  \n1.1. Overview  \nInfinite regress arguments (henceforth IRAs) are powerful arguments and frequently used in all domains of philosophy. They play an important role in many debates in epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and metaphysics. In historical debates, they have been employed, for example, against the thesis that everything has a cause and against the thesis that everything of value is desired for the sake of something else. In present-day debates, they are used to invalidate certain theories of justification, certain theories of meaning, the thesis that knowledge-how requires knowledge-that, and many other things.  \nIndeed, there are infinite regresses of reasons, obligations, rules, relations and disputes, and all are supposed to have their own moral. Yet most of them are involved in controversy. Hence the question is: what exactly is an IRA, and how should such arguments be evaluated? This book answers these questions and is composed as follows:  \n• Chap. 1 introduces the topic, presents an overview of classic IRAs, and explains what we should expect from theories about IRAs.  \n• Chap. 2-3 summarize two theories of IRAs that have been presented in the literature: namely the Paradox Theory and the Failure Theory.  \n• Chap. 4-5 concern two case studies which illustrate the general insights about IRAs presented in the previous chapters in some detail.  \nThis book is of metaphilosophical nature. It is about how philosophers can and should proceed in their inquiries. Indeed: what steps can and should philosophers take to defend their views? IRAs, then, are arguably one of the main philosophical argumentation techniques (that is, next to thought experiments) .  \nThe book’s ultimate aim is to make a difference to the philosopher’s practice. Particularly, the hope is that from now on disputes about any particular IRA (concerning what it establishes, or concerning whether it can be resisted) will be more clearly motivated, and indeed more clearly framed, in terms of the guidelines outlined in what follows.  \nI am grateful to many colleagues for advice. Special thanks go to: Arianna Betti, Bert Leuridan, Anna-Sofia Maurin, Francesco Orilia, Benjamin Schnieder, Maarten Van Dyck, Erik Weber, and René van Woudenberg. Thanks also to Jon Sozek for the language edit, to the Flemish and Dutch science foundations for financial support, and to the referees and editors of my articles on which this book is based (see Wieland 2013a, 2013b, 2013c, 2014) .  \n1.2. Two Examples  \nTo introduce the topic, let us consider two classic examples: Juvenal’s guardians, and the ancient (yet timelessly relevant) Problem of the Criterion.1 Famously, the Roman poet Juvenal posed the question: “But who will guard the guardians?”(Satire 6.O29-34) . The IRA suggested by this question could be spelled out in two different ways:  \nSuppose you want to have your partner guarded so that he or she can no longer commit unfaithful acts. As a solution, you hire a guardian. Yet, as it happens with guardians, they cannot be trusted","cbCaimyTmQn9o55y","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimyTmQn9o55y","pdf",448542,2,1,80,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Overview\n## Two Examples\n## Overview of Classic Cases\n## Two Desiderata\n# The Paradox Theory\n## Use\n## Evaluation\n## Classic Instances\n## Logical Analysis\n# The Failure Theory\n## Use\n## Evaluation\n## Classic Instances\n## Concluding Remarks\n## Logical Analysis\n# Case Study: Carroll’s Tortoise\n## The Renewed Tortoise\n## Stage Setting\n## Four Solutions\n## Three Hypotheses\n## Concluding Remark\n# Case Study: Access and the Shirker Problem\n## Access\n## The Loophole\n## Paradox Analysis\n## Failure Analysis\n## Concluding Remarks","[{\"question\":\"What is the main problem the book addresses about infinite regress arguments?\",\"answer\":\"It asks what exactly counts as an infinite regress argument and how such arguments should be evaluated in philosophical debates.\"},{\"question\":\"Which two general theories of infinite regress arguments does the book present?\",\"answer\":\"The book summarizes the Paradox Theory and the Failure Theory, comparing how they explain and evaluate IRAs.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book illustrate its general claims?\",\"answer\":\"It uses case studies—Carroll’s Tortoise and Access with the Shirker Problem—to apply the theoretical guidance in more detail.\"}]","Infinite Regress Arguments - 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