Stewart Cohen is a contemporary analytic philosopher specializing in epistemology, best known for developing epistemic contextualism—the view that the truth conditions of knowledge attributions shift depending on the context of the attributor. His work has been central to debates about skepticism, epistemic closure, and the nature of justification. He has taught at Arizona State University and contributed significantly to the literature on internalism, externalism, and the structure of evidential relations.
Developed and defended epistemic contextualism as a systematic response to skeptical arguments
Analyzed the epistemic closure principle and its role in generating skeptical paradoxes
Argued that non-conceptual experiential content can stand in evidential relations to propositions
Contributed to debates on the internalism/externalism divide in epistemology of justification
Produced influential work on how practical stakes affect knowledge attributions