Epistemic Circles, Common Sense, and Epistemic Virtues

This paper deals with the problem of epistemic circularity to which it proposes a solution that is based on an account of common sense inspired by one branch of virtue epistemology. It explains why there is no need to be afraid of the notion of self-confidence in epistemology, and shows that a strong distinction between common knowledge and scientific knowledge may be seen as mistaken. The postulation of a profound division between these two kinds of knowledge has been a French speciality in recent years, inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s notion of an «epistemological break». This distinction is disputable in the epistemological perspective favored by Roger Pouivet.