b. 1971
James Pryor is a contemporary analytic philosopher specializing in epistemology and philosophy of mind, currently a professor at New York University. He is best known for defending 'dogmatism' about perceptual justification — the view that perceptual experiences immediately and directly justify beliefs without requiring antecedent justification. His work engages centrally with skepticism, the structure of epistemic justification, and the evidential role of experience.
Developed and defended 'dogmatism' about perceptual justification in the influential paper 'The Skeptic and the Dogmatist' (2000)
Argued that perceptual experiences — including those with nonconceptual content — can directly confer prima facie justification on beliefs
Advanced debate on the relationship between semantic externalism and self-knowledge (the McKinsey paradox)
Contributed to the analysis of closure principles and their role in anti-skeptical arguments
Authored 'Highlights of Recent Epistemology' (2001), a widely-used survey of contemporary epistemological debates