PhilosophyLesson 3 of 3 in the course Epistemology

Social Epistemology: Testimony, Group Belief, Standpoints, and Injustice

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Applied epistemology uses philosophical tools to examine practical questions about knowledge and justification. This lesson introduces its social focus and explains why testimony—the knowledge we gain from other people—is central to everyday and collective inquiry.

Traditional epistemology often asks what an individual knows or when an individual is justified in believing something. Applied epistemology brings epistemological theories and methods to practical social issues and practices. It often examines systems and collectives: for example, whether scientific procedures reliably produce true beliefs, or whether a jury deliberates in a way that supports justified conclusions.

All flashcards

Applied epistemology
The use of philosophical methods and theories about knowledge and justification to examine practical issues and social practices.
Testimony
A way of gaining knowledge by believing something another person has communicated or reported.
Epistemic peer
Someone with comparable ability, evidence, and background knowledge in a particular domain.
Standpoint epistemology
The study of how social position affects epistemic access and opportunities for knowing.
Testimonial and hermeneutical injustice
Testimonial injustice unfairly discounts someone's word; hermeneutical injustice involves inadequate shared concepts for understanding experience.

Quiz questions

  1. When a relevant expert disagrees with a non-expert, what is a reasonable response?Answer: Lower confidence or suspend judgment while seeking further justification.
  2. What do philosophers disagree about concerning epistemic peer disagreement?Answer: Whether it always requires changing confidence, and how much it should change.
  3. According to the commitment view, how can a group hold a belief?Answer: Its members are jointly committed to a position as a group.
  4. Why can including marginalized perspectives strengthen knowledge-seeking?Answer: Those perspectives may reveal evidence or features that dominant positions overlook.
  5. What helps determine whether a group's conclusion is justified?Answer: The reliability of the processes the group uses to reach it.

Based on Introduction to Philosophy by Nathan Smith (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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