James B. Freeman is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College of The City University of New York.

'… argumentation theory has long wanted for a detailed and sustained treatment of premise acceptability to supplement and improve various pedagogical assumptions that populate textbooks. And beyond even this, the book is a serious contribution to epistemology that should find a wide philosophical audience from those interested in such matters.' Christopher Tindale, Trent University, Ontario

• Part I. Acceptability: Dialectical and Epistemological Considerations: 1. Why do we need a theory of acceptability?; 2. Acceptability and presumption; 3. Factors determining presumption: basic considerations; 4. Epistemological considerations: acceptability, deontology, internalism, justification; Part II. Statements, Belief-Generating Mechanisms, and Presumptive Reliability: 5. What types of statements are there?; 6. Necessary statements and a priori intuition; 7. Descriptions and their belief-generating mechanisms; 8. Interpretations and their modes of intuition; 9. Evaluations and the moral faculties; 10. Taking one's word: the interpersonal belief-generating mechanism; Part III. Practice and Perspective: 11. An outline of the practice of epistemic causistry; 12. Theoretical considerations: a common sense foundationalism.