Degrees of Epistemic Opacity

Abstract

This article discusses the notions of ‘epistemic opacity’--referred to here as ‘weak epistemic opacity’-- and ‘essential epistemic opacity’ originally proposed by Paul Humphreys, and defends the idea that epistemic opacity, in general, should be taken as a concept coming in degrees. This approach helps to put into perspective and better understand the close relationship between the notion of epistemic opacity and concrete scientific practices.