Bishop and Trout here present a unique and provocative new approach to epistemology (the theory of human knowledge and reasoning). Their approach aims to liberate epistemology from the scholastic debates of standard analytic epistemology, and treat it as a branch of the philosophy of science. The approach is novel in its use of cost-benefit analysis to guide people facing real reasoning problems and in its framework for resolving normative disputes in psychology. Based on empirical data, Bishop and Trout show how people can improve their reasoning by relying on Statistical Prediction Rules (SPRs). They then develop and articulate the positive core of the book. Their view, Strategic Reliabilism, claims that epistemic excellence consists in the efficient allocation of cognitive resources to reliable reasoning strategies, applied to significant problems. The last third of the book develops the implications of this view for standard analytic epistemology; for resolving normative disputes in psychology; and for offering practical, concrete advice on how this theory can improve real people's reasoning. This is a truly distinctive and controversial work that spans many disciplines and will speak to an unusually diverse group, including people in epistemology, philosophy of science, decision theory, cognitive and clinical psychology, and ethics and public policy.

"All of this material is fresh, original and exciting. It might even be right! But right or wrong, I think it is a safe bet that it will attract a great deal of attention, and that Bishop & Trout will be recognized as two of the most interesting and innovative people working in the area where philosophy of science, epistemology and empirical psychology come together." —Stephen Stich, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University

"Bishop and Trout have written a wonderful book.  Their goal is nothing less than a radical reorientation of contemporary epistemology.  Rejecting the analytic enterprise of explicating our concepts of justification and knowledge, they instead seek a return to an epistemology which would provide rules for the direction of the mind.  Empirically informed and philosophically sophisticated, this is a lively and challenging book." —Hilary Kornblith, Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"This is a brilliant and useful essay integrating theoretical philosophy and empirical psychology to the benefit of both disciplines.  The essay is a paradigm example of how a philosophical perspective can bring order and new insights into scientific practice.  The authors are perhaps uniquely suited to the task as they are both academic philosophers and practicing behavioral scientists.  The book led me to reorganize my understanding of research on judgment and decision making and its implications.… And, best of all, it was fun to read." —Reid Hastie, Professor of Behavioral Science, University of Chicago

"This book should be read by anyone interested in the foibles and fallibility of human reasoning, and in how an empirically informed view of human knowledge and understanding may help yield not only good philosophy, but also improved policy, better thinking and greater well being." —Eldar Shafir, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University