DeRose
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy, Epistemologyb. 1962
Keith DeRose is a contemporary American philosopher and Sterling Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, best known for developing epistemic contextualism as a response to the problem of skepticism. He argues that the truth conditions of knowledge attributions shift with the conversational context, which explains why skeptical arguments seem compelling without vindicating global skepticism. His work has been foundational in debates over epistemic closure, the semantics of 'knows,' and the relationship between ordinary knowledge claims and skeptical scenarios.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed epistemic contextualism as a major response to Cartesian skepticism
2
Published The Case for Contextualism (2009), the definitive treatment of his position
3
Argued that skeptical hypotheses elevate epistemic standards in context rather than refuting ordinary knowledge
4
Provided influential analysis of epistemic closure and its role in skeptical arguments
5
Contributed to the 'Moorean' vs. skeptical response debate in contemporary epistemology