Reasons and Percepts

Abstract

According to a traditional picture, only conscious, deliberately formed beliefs can be based on reasons. Because beliefs can be based on reasons, they are epistemically evaluable as justified or unjustified. Perceptions are taken to have a starkly different epistemic role. They are considered 'unjustified justifiers,' providing justification without being subject to its norms. I argue, in contrast to this traditional picture, that perceptions can be based on reasons and are thereby epistemically evaluable as justified or unjustified. Drawing on psychological research, I examine three cases of basing on reasons in perception: core cognition, perceptual learning, and crossmodal interactions. The scope of epistemic evaluability is not restricted to belief.