Essays in Collective Epistemology

TL;DRAbstract

Abstract This book examines new philosophical work on issues in collective epistemology. Questions discussed include: Should the justified beliefs and knowledge of collective entities be understood simply in terms of the justified beliefs and knowledge of their individual members? Or are these epistemic phenomena somehow over and above those of the group’s members? How should we understand group testimony as a source of knowledge? How do we tell if a group is an agent, epistemic or otherwise? Can epistemic virtues apply to groups? Is disagreement between groups subject to the same epistemic principles governing disagreement between individuals? How far does the social extend into individual epistemology? Do theories and distinctions accepted in individual epistemology apply straightforwardly to the corresponding phenomena in the collective domain? What is the coherence requirement for individual and group judgment? When is it rational to defer to supermajority testimony?

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper