On Moore’s Notion of Proof

Canadian Journal of Philosophy 50 (3):313-321 (2020)
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Abstract

Much has been said about Moore’s proof of the external world, but the notion of proof that Moore employs has been largely overlooked. I suspect that most have either found nothing wrong with it, or they have thought it somehow irrelevant to whether the proof serves its antiskeptical purpose. I show, however, that Moore’s notion of proof is highly problematic. For instance, it trivializes in the sense that any known proposition is provable. This undermines Moore’s proof as he conceives it since it introduces a skeptical regress that he goes at length to resist. I go on to consider various revisions of Moore’s notion of proof and finally settle on one that I think is adequate for Moore’s purposes and faithful to what he says concerning immediate knowledge.

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Michael De
Utrecht University

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References found in this work

Proof of an external world.George Edward Moore - 1939 - Proceedings of the British Academy 25 (5):273--300.
Some Main Problems of Philosophy.George Edward Moore - 1956 - Philosophy 31 (119):362-366.
Moore against the new skeptics.William G. Lycan - 2001 - Philosophical Studies 103 (1):35 - 53.
An Outline of Philosophy.Bertrand Russell - 1928 - Humana Mente 3 (10):231-235.
How to Reid Moore.John Greco - 2002 - Philosophical Quarterly 52 (209):544-563.

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