<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>I argue that inquiry can be defined without reference to the attitudes inquirers have during inquiry. Inquiry can instead be defined by its aim: it is the activity that has the aim of answering a question. I call this approach to defining inquiry a “naive” account. I present the naive account of inquiry in contrast to a prominent contemporary account of inquiry most notably defended by Jane Friedman. According to this view of inquiry, which I call an attitude-centric view, inquiry is appropriately defined not by the aim of the activity but by the attitudes that inquirers have during inquiry. After developing the naive view, I defend it against the objection that it collapses into the attitude-centric view.</p></abstract>

I argue that inquiry can be defined without reference to the attitudes inquirers have during inquiry. Inquiry can instead be defined by its aim: it is the activity that has the aim of answering a question. I call this approach to defining inquiry a “naive” account. I present the naive account of inquiry in contrast to a prominent contemporary account of inquiry most notably defended by Jane Friedman. According to this view of inquiry, which I call an attitude-centric view, inquiry is appropriately defined not by the aim of the activity but by the attitudes that inquirers have during inquiry. After developing the naive view, I defend it against the objection that it collapses into the attitude-centric view.

Simply Finding Answers, or the Entirety of Inquiry While Standing on One Foot

Disputatio

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Simply Finding Answers, or the Entirety of Inquiry While Standing on One Foot"}

I argue that inquiry can be defined without reference to the attitudes inquirers have during inquiry. Inquiry can instead be defined by its aim: it is the...

Simply Finding Answers, or the Entirety of Inquiry While Standing on One Foot

Published Online: Dec 08, 2020

Page range: 181 - 198

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2020-0008

Keywords
Inquiry, interrogative attitude, suspended judgement, question, Friedman

© 2020 Nicholas Smith, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Simply Finding Answers, or the Entirety of Inquiry While Standing on One Foot

Published Online: Dec 08, 2020

Page range: 181 - 198

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2020-0008

KeywordsInquiry, interrogative attitude, suspended judgement, question, Friedman

© 2020 Nicholas Smith, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Inquiry, interrogative attitude, suspended judgement, question, Friedman