The Epistemology of Testimony and Religious Belief
Keyword(s):
This chapter presents and evaluates the central issues and views in the epistemology of testimony, with a particular focus on the following: the nature of testimony and testimony-based belief; the question of whether testimonial knowledge is acquired via transmission or generation; the debate between reductionism and non-reductionism in the epistemology of testimony; and the extent to which interpersonal features of testimonial exchanges are relevant to the epistemic status of testimonial beliefs. The final section then considers two central concerns that arise specifically with respect to religious beliefs formed on the basis of testimony: the Argument from Luck and the Argument from Authority.