Intellectual Trust in Oneself and Others

A provocative account of the primacy of intellectual trust and authority.

To what degree should we rely on our own resources and methods to form opinions about important matters? To what degree should we depend on various authorities, such as a recognized expert or a social tradition? In this provocative account of intellectual trust and authority, Richard Foley argues that it can be reasonable to have intellectual trust in oneself even though it is not possible to provide a defence of the reliability of one's faculties, methods and opinions that does not beg the question. Moreover, he shows how this account of intellectual self-trust can be used to understand the degree to which it is reasonable to rely on alternative authorities. This book will be of interest to advanced students and professionals working in the fields of philosophy and the social sciences as well as anyone looking for a unified account of the issues at the centre of intellectual trust.

Acknowledgements; Part I. Intellectual Trust in Oneself: 1. The importance of intellectual self-trust; 2. Intellectual self-trust, rational belief and invulnerability to self-criticism; 3. Empirical challenges to self-trust; Part II. Intellectual Trust in Others and in One's Own Future and Past Self: 4. Self-trust and the authority of others; 5. Past opinion and current opinion; 6. Future opinion and current opinion; Conclusion; Index.

In this provocative account of intellectual trust and authority, Richard Foley argues that it can be reasonable to have intellectual trust in oneself even though it is not possible to provide a defence of the reliability of one's faculties, methods and opinions that does not beg the question.