UC Irvine

The subject matter of epistemology is knowledge. The epistemologist ought therefore to be concerned with questions such as: Do people know things? What kinds of things do we know about? Are there things that people mistakenly believe they know? Epistemologies that give pessimistic answers to these and similar questions are generally called ‘skeptical’. This dissertation examines the history of the ‘demon argument’ for philosophical skepticism. I first examine the historical backdrop of ancient skepticism and it’s medieval reception, before demonstrating that the demon argument itself arose out of a complex synthesis of medieval theories of divine power, demonic deception, and the legacy of ancient skepticism. This synthesis was originally carried out for nonskeptical, methodological purposes, but was appropriated by a resurgent skepticism in the Early Modern Period.