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Aims of Inquiry

  • Unique Paper ID: 168190
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 5
  • PageNo: 52-66
  • Abstract:
  • Inquiry is an integral part of human life, and it is a goal-directed activity that has a success condition, namely the achievement of its goal. Contemporary epistemologists understand inquiry as a goal-directed activity, with the Simple View stating that an inquiry is successful if and only if its goal has been achieved. This view is supported by various philosophers, such as Avery Archer (2021) and Christoph Kelp (2020). The Zetetic Instrumental Principle, introduced by Jane Friedman (2020), states that if one wants to figure out a question, one should take the necessary means to do so. Philosophers have proposed conditions for pursuing an inquiry, such as knowing the answer to a question or not inquiring into a question while believing it. The goal of inquiry is to acquire knowledge, understanding, and certainty, and it is essential to understand the purpose and motivation behind inquiry. My paper tackles theories relating to belief acquisition and knowledge in the process of an inquiry. A major part of the paper is tackling the issue of when inquiry is epistemically valid to conduct and when it is rationally impermissible for us to do it. The popular K-Aim asserts that the only goal of inquiry can be knowledge. I attempt to challenge the popular theory of K-Aim with alternate theories like ICB (Inquire to Confirm Belief). The theory of Imaginative Inquiry greatly contributes to my attempt at suggesting how knowledge isn’t the only goal of inquiry. My aim with this paper is for people to see the goal-directed process of inquiry in a different light, an activity that can hold other goals than knowledge, and still be worthwhile. I briefly touch upon topics of credence in belief to question if knowledge itself is possible for which the K-Aim believers are rooting.
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Cite This Article

  • ISSN: 2349-6002
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 5
  • PageNo: 52-66

Aims of Inquiry

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