--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am concerned about epistemic…" description: "\"I am concerned about epistemic normativity, and I don't think that it is just a hangover from a priori and armchair approaches. Some ways of forming be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/hilary-kornblith-11063_approach_i-am-concerned-about-epistemic-normativi_2212827.jpg" --- # I am concerned about epistemic normativity, and I don't… ![“I am concerned about epistemic normativity, and I don't think that it is just a hangover from a priori and armchair approaches. Some ways of forming beliefs are better than others, and epistemologists of all stripes, I believe, have a legitimate interest in addressing the issue of what makes some…” quote by Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/hilary-kornblith-11063_approach_i-am-concerned-about-epistemic-normativi_2212827.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/hilary-kornblith-11063_approach_i-am-concerned-about-epistemic-normativi_2212827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/hilary-kornblith-11063_approach_i-am-concerned-about-epistemic-normativi_2212827.jpg) > “I am concerned about epistemic normativity, and I don't think that it is just a hangover from a priori and armchair approaches. Some ways of forming beliefs are better than others, and epistemologists of all stripes, I believe, have a legitimate interest in addressing the issue of what makes some of these ways better than others.” [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Epistemic norms guide which belief‑forming methods are superior, beyond mere a‑priori speculation. **In simple terms:** Better ways of forming beliefs are needed. Key Takeaway Seek methods that improve belief reliability. Themes epistemology norms belief formation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - academic research - philosophical debate - education - policy making Key Concepts rationality justification methodology Questions to Reflect On - How do we decide which belief methods are superior? - What role should intuition play in epistemic norms? A Different Perspective Norms can be culturally contingent, limiting universal application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The more we can get together and talk about various perspectives, feelings, beliefs, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-leahy/the-more-we-can-get-together-and-talk-about-various-perspectives/) [William P. Leahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-leahy/) > [I believe, that empirically informed approaches to the question have issued in more illuminating answers than the old armchair approaches. But I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/i-believe-that-empirically-informed-approaches-to-the-question-have/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [Here, as in so many other cases, however, it turns out that a very commonsensical idea looks far less attractive when one examines some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/here-as-in-so-many-other-cases-however-it-turns-out-that-a-very/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The experimentalists think that we can only get at our concepts by way of empirical investigation, while the armchair philosophers think that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-experimentalists-think-that-we-can-only-get-at-our-concepts-by/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [It started becoming clear to me how one might have views about the nature of mind and of knowledge which are empirically informed. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/it-started-becoming-clear-to-me-how-one-might-have-views-about-the/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [No one would suggest that we can adequately investigate what makes something an acid, or what makes something aluminum, by bringing our pretheoretical intuitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/no-one-would-suggest-that-we-can-adequately-investigate-what-makes/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [Internalist approaches to epistemology, I believe, have a great deal of intuitive appeal. Internalists believe that the features in virtue of which a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/internalist-approaches-to-epistemology-i-believe-have-a-great-deal-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [That makes sense, I suppose. But for me, reading is an adventure. It makes me an armchair traveler and takes me places I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lee/that-makes-sense-i-suppose-but-for-me-reading-is-an-adventure-it/) Laura Lee > [I'm an armchair psychologist, I suppose, and I like to kind of sit around and guess and pretend I know what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/i-m-an-armchair-psychologist-i-suppose-and-i-like-to-kind-of-sit/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-my-dream-to-create-an-art-which-is-filled-with-balance-purity/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Joe Calzaghe is next. If he gets himself out that armchair, gets himself back in the gym, let's have a fight for the British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/joe-calzaghe-is-next-if-he-gets-himself-out-that-armchair-gets/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/my-apartment-is-basically-a-couch-an-armchair-and-about-four-thousand/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I once sang 'Summer Nights,' from 'Grease,' at a bar in Melbourne with John Travolta, who's a good friend of mine. He looked cool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-once-sang-summer-nights-from-grease-at-a-bar-in-melbourne-with-john/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## More by Hilary Kornblith > [I think that when I first suggested the idea that knowledge should be viewed as a natural kind, many people thought this was just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/i-think-that-when-i-first-suggested-the-idea-that-knowledge-should-be/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The fact that these scientific theories have a fine track record of successful prediction and explanation speaks for itself. (Which is not to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-fact-that-these-scientific-theories-have-a-fine-track-record-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I am quite wedded to the view that epistemologists should concern themselves with knowledge rather than our concept of knowledge. The analogy I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/i-am-quite-wedded-to-the-view-that-epistemologists-should-concern/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The role of empirical work in informing our philosophical theories, as I see it, is not that it gives us a better view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-role-of-empirical-work-in-informing-our-philosophical-theories-as/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [Here, as in so many other cases, however, it turns out that a very commonsensical idea looks far less attractive when one examines some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/here-as-in-so-many-other-cases-however-it-turns-out-that-a-very/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The fact that we have been able to develop a successful science, which issues in ever more accurate predictions and broader explanations, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-fact-that-we-have-been-able-to-develop-a-successful-science-which/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [By putting the first-person point of view in a naturalistic perspective, I believe that we may genuinely come to understand it for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/by-putting-the-first-person-point-of-view-in-a-naturalistic/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The worry that unreflective belief acquisition may be unreliable, after all, applies equally to reflective belief acquisition: it too may be unreliable. To my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-worry-that-unreflective-belief-acquisition-may-be-unreliable/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [When I got to college, I planned to be a math major, and, in addition to signing up for some math courses, I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/when-i-got-to-college-i-planned-to-be-a-math-major-and-in-addition-to/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [When reflection is thereby demystified, I believe that the temptation to view human knowledge as different in kind from animal knowledge is undermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/when-reflection-is-thereby-demystified-i-believe-that-the-temptation/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [Internalist approaches to epistemology, I believe, have a great deal of intuitive appeal. Internalists believe that the features in virtue of which a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/internalist-approaches-to-epistemology-i-believe-have-a-great-deal-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [What we need to do, however, is figure out what our best available theories of the mind suggest about epistemological issues, while we recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/what-we-need-to-do-however-is-figure-out-what-our-best-available/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I largely defer to the cognitive ethologists. I believe that the arguments that they make on this score are extremely persuasive. More than this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/i-largely-defer-to-the-cognitive-ethologists-i-believe-that-the/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [Rather, although belief may be adequate for explaining the behavior of individual animals - an animal which believes that p will behave no differently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/rather-although-belief-may-be-adequate-for-explaining-the-behavior-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) [Explore all 62 Hilary Kornblith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. 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I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. 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