Epistemic Abstinence A Critical Analysis of the Problem of Truth in Political Liberalism

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a thesis of Epistemic Abstinence that was developed by an important group of political theorists starting in the 1980s. The thesis is of central importance to political liberalism. It is meant to secure a consensus on procedural rules and public principles of justice by insisting that the many interests and fundamental conceptions that coexist in society abstain from making claims about the truth their own moral precepts within the public sphere. I argue that this strategy breaks down because the thesis of Epistemic Abstinence cannot be applied to itself.