The Epistemology of Experts

This volume presents new research on the epistemology of experts. It features original essays from leading epistemologists on this timely topic.

Autorentext

Peter Brössel is Jr. Professor of Philosophy at Ruhr University Bochum, where he also directs the Emmy Noether Research Group 'From Perception to Belief and Back Again.' His research interests include epistemology, philosophy of science, language, and mind, focusing on rational reasoning, confirmation theory, perception, language learning, and social aspects of reasoning.

Anna-Maria Asunta Eder is Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cologne, specializing in epistemology, philosophy of logic, philosophy of science, and metaphilosophy. Her research addresses topics such as epistemic normativity and rationality, the social dimensions of rational reasoning, and conceptual engineering.

Thomas Grundmann is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cologne. From 2016 until 2018, he was president of the German Society for Analytic Philosophy. He has published numerously on topics from general epistemology (skepticism, epistemic concepts, a priori knowledge), philosophical methodology, and applied social epistemology, for example, disagreement and epistemic authority.

Inhalt

Introduction Part 1: Analysis of Experts 1. Experts, Epistemic Authorities, and the Problem of Public Exposure 2. Becoming an Expert: Truth, Process, and Authority Part 2: Epistemic Authority 3. Preemptionism and its Reliabilistic Assumption: A Bayesian Model 4. Epistemic Authority and Expertise 5. What Justifies Believing on the Authority of an Expert? Testimonial Reductionism Versus an Epistemic Second-Personal Reason for Belief Part 3: The Social Roles of Experts 6. On Being Entitled to Expect Enlightenment by Expertise 7. Intellectual Authority and Education 8. Epistemic Anarchy and the Role of Experts 9. Expert Judgment: Overlooked Epistemic Reasons Part 4: Challenges 10. ... 11. What to Do When Experts Disagree 12. Inquiry and the Positive Epistemic Value of Diversity 13. The Infodemic, Epistemic Exclusion in Science Communication, and Distrust in Scientific Expertise 14. Distrusting Expert Testimony and Conspiracy Theories 15. Explaining Alternative Beliefs: Hypocrisy and Trustworthiness in Science