About Me
My name is Casey Scott and I'm a PhD student studying Philosophy at the University of Iowa. I am interested in Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics. I have BA degrees in Philosophy and Ethics & Public Policy that I earned from the University of Iowa after graduating with distinction in philosophy in 2023.
I am especially interested in the metaphysical grounding relation and how we might use it to explain moral properties (i.e., what they are, why they carry normative force, etc.). Additionally, I have a growing interest in the philosophy of law and how it overlaps with other areas of philosophy (i.e., evidence and testimony, artificial intelligence, etc.). Please see the below list of in-progress papers for more information.
Works in Progress
What is Epistemic Harm?
Recent work in social epistemology has devoted significant effort to identifying types of epistemic injustice. Oftentimes, however, philosophers have unduly linked epistemic injustice and epistemic harm. Here, I seek to separate the two notions by further explicating what epistemic harm is.
Send me an email at casey-scott@uiowa.edu for a full draft.
Jus Ante Bellum and Artificial Intelligence (Under Review)
Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have made wars less costly and potentially more dangerous than wars using legacy weapons. We want to develop weapons or defense systems in preparation for these threats. At the same time, we don’t want to agitate other global actors, making war more likely. Here, I outline a set of jus ante bellum criteria that allow us to balance these considerations. I begin by providing a brief overview of the current literature. Next, through an analysis of jus ad bellum and jus in bello, I show the importance of a criteria of jus ante bellum. Then, I outline the six demands of jus ante bellum: foreseeability, proportionality, clarity, testing, necessity, and intentionality. Lastly, I show how new AI weapons might make the demands of jus ante bellum more difficult to fulfill.
Send me an email at casey-scott@uiowa.edu for the full draft.
The Rationality of Voting: Belief, Action, & Choice-worthiness
Work in progress.
Send me an email at casey-scott@uiowa.edu for a full-draft.
Cleaning up Garbage Foundationalism
If we have justified beliefs, they are justified because they stand in inferential relation to other beliefs. In this paper, I reconsider “garbage” foundationalism—the view that inferential justificatory claims for p can terminate at any point, regardless of the justificatory status of the belief(s). By viewing epistemic justification as an entitlement to believe, an award won by our epistemic labor, I make crucial amendments to garbage foundationalism on three fronts: justificatory status, epistemic responsibility, and contextual adaptability. Put together, these amendments to “garbage” foundationalism might allow for a more commonsensical internalist solution to the problem of forgotten evidence.
Send me an email at casey-scott@uiowa.edu for a full draft.