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Allan Hazlett

Associate Professor of Philosophy
Director of Graduate Studies in Philosophy
PhD, Brown University
research interests:
  • Epistemology
  • Metaethics
  • Moral Psychology
  • Aesthetics
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    • Washington University
    • CB 1073
    • One Brookings Drive
    • St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
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    Allan Hazlett works on testimony, skepticism, desire, the value of truth, reasons, and other topics in epistemology and metaethics. 

    Hazlett studied philosophy at Brown University, earning his doctorate in 2006.  Since then he been a member of the philosophy departments at Texas Tech University, Fordham University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of New Mexico.  He is the author of three books: A Luxury of the Understanding: On the Value of True Belief (Oxford University Press, 2013), A Critical Introduction to Skepticism (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014), and The Epistemology of Desire and the Problem of Nihilism (Oxford University Press, 2024).  His work has also appeared in Noûs, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, among other places. 

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    A Critical Introduction to Skepticism

    A Critical Introduction to Skepticism

    By Allan Hazlett

    Skepticism remains a central and defining issue in epistemology, and in the wider tradition of Western philosophy. To better understand the contemporary position of this important philosophical subject, Allan Hazlett introduces a range of topics, including:

    • Ancient skepticism
    • skeptical arguments in the work of Hume and Descartes
    • Cartesian skepticism in contemporary epistemology
    • anti-skeptical strategies, including Mooreanism, nonclosure, and contextualism
    • additional varieties of skepticism
    • the practical consequences of Cartesian skepticism

    Presenting a comprehensive survey of the key problems, arguments, and theories, together with additional readings, A Critical Introduction to Skepticism is an ideal guide for students and scholars looking to understand how skepticism is shaping epistemology today.

    A Luxury of the Understanding

    A Luxury of the Understanding

    By Allan Hazlett

    The value of true belief has played a central role in history of philosophy--consider Socrates' slogan that the unexamined life is not worth living, and Aristotle's claim that everyone naturally wants knowledge--as well as in contemporary epistemology, where questions about the value of knowledge have recently taken center stage. It has usually been assumed that accurate representation--true belief--is valuable, either instrumentally or for its own sake. In A Luxury of the Understanding, Allan Hazlett offers a critical study of that assumption, and of the main ways in which it can be defended.