Self-Trust. A Study of Reason, Knowledge and Autonomy

The eminent philosopher Keith Lehrer offers an original and distinctively personal view of central aspects of the human condition, such as reason, knowledge, wisdom, autonomy, love, consensus, and consciousness. He argues that what is uniquely human is our capacity for evaluating our own mental states (such as beliefs and desires), and suggests that we have a system for such evaluation which allows the resolution of personal and interpersonal conflict. The keystone in this system is self-trust, on which reason, knowledge, and wisdom are grounded.

Keith Lehrer is Regent's Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, Tucson. From 1992 to 1995 he was Chair of the Board of Officers of the American Philosophical Association. His books include Knowledge (OUP 1974), Metamind (OUP 1990), Theory of Knowledge (Westview/Routledge 1990), and Thomas Reid (Routledge 1991).