DEFLATIONARY APPROACHES TO SCEPTICISM DEFLATIONARY APPROACHES TO SCEPTICISM By

ii This dissertation examines a traditional philosophical problem within a novel framework. The so-called "problem of the external world " is a problem about how knowledge, and even reasonable belief, about the world are possible, and it is best characterized as the challenge to show how and why scepticism about the external world- the absurd view that such knowledge is impossible- is incorrect. My framework for the examination of this problem involves two major elements. The first element involves a general characterization of the nature of "perennial" philosophical problems, like the problem of the external world, that attempts to isolate the specific features that render them problematic, which, in turn, isolates what is required for their solutions. Applying this characterization to the problem of the external world, the second element of the framework involves distinguishing between two approaches for the solving of the problem, which I label "constructive " and "deflationary, " and establishing why the latter approach is preferable. I furthe