Answer to Question #98869 in Philosophy for mary

Question

As you know from reading Keith DeRose’s “Contextualism and Knowledge Attributions,” the contextualist maintains that the truth-value of propositions of the form “S knows that p” vary across contexts of knowledge ascription. Would the truth-value of p, understood as any proposition simple or complex vary across contexts? Hint: The correct answer here will not be the same as the answer one would get from a skeptical invariantist.

Answer 1

Contextualism is the perception that what knowledge attribution expresses partly depends on the attributor's context. This reason also determines whether knowledge attribution is true. Contextualists believe that the main contextual features include the prominence in the attributor's situation of doubting knowledge, as well as his perception in the truth of p. As the perception becomes more positive, and the doubting becomes more serious, the attributor's contextual standard becomes demanding. Therefore, the subject S should be in a better position to justify the attributor's claim that 'S knows p.' The truth-value of p, would be understood as any proposition simple or complex vary across the attributor's stake and degree of doubts.