Naturalized epistemology and the law of evidence: methodo-logical reflections

PARDO S., MICHAEL. Naturalized epistemology and the law of evidence: methodo-logical reflections [artículos de revistas]. 2021. Publicado en: Quaestio facti. Revista internacional sobre razonamiento probatorio, n.2 , 299-311

This paper discusses Ronald Allen’s article, Naturalized Epistemology and the Law of Evidence Revisited, and reflects on how epistemology can contribute to our understanding of the evidentiary proof process. I first situate Allen’s critique of recent philosophical scholarship, distinguishing between general theoretical accounts of proof (including the theory that Allen and I have defended), on one hand, and the applications of specific epistemological concepts or issues to law, on the other. I then present a methodological picture that diverges in some respects from the one that emerges from Allen’s critique. In discussing this alternative methodological picture, I explain how epistemology can contribute to legal evidence and proof while avoiding the problems that Allen identifies.