Week 6 epistemic agency and normativity dr matthew chrisman this week focuses on the agency involved in believing. Thomas vinci, dalhousie university, canada praise for the first edition. An international journal for theory, history and foundations of science 2008 vol. My aim is to show that this practice can, if done well, contribute to the ameliorative task of. America is experiencing an epistemic crisis, and with that has come a crisis of authority in journalism. A central goal of linda zagzebskis rich defense of the very idea of epistemic authority is to argue that epistemic egoism of either form is an. She writes in the areas of epistemology, philosophy of religion, and virtue theory. Epistemology especially in its second edition is simply the best textbook in epistemology that i know of. Jensen alex, valerie joly chock, kyle mallard, and jonathan matheson, university of north florida, jonathan.
Fresh perspectives on new issues, longstanding debates, and the connections between t hem. Epistemic norms new essays on action, belief, and assertion edited by clayton littlejohn and john turri. A recent book by linda zagzebski, epistemic authority. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief 9780190278267. I have never seen a work by four philosophers working together, and i appreciate the collaboration it must have taken. Linda trinkaus zagzebski born 1946 is an american philosopher. Heraclitus im not sure what he says the epistemic authority is. Epistemic authority, preemptive reasons, and understanding. Discusses epistemic authority in communities as well as between individuals. The current trend in so much that passes for medical ethics is to claim that autonomy trumps everything else. Chrisman, m 2007 from epistemic contextualism to epistemic expressivism philosophical studies vol.
Knowledge and the motive for truth linda zagzebski 1. Linda zagzebskis totalpreemption view says that these reasons are. She argues that epistemic and emotional selftrust are rational and inescapable, that consistent selftrust commits us to trust in others, and that among those we are. She is a george lynn cross research professor, and kingfisher college chair of the philosophy of religion and ethics at the university of oklahoma. Epistemic authority and autonomy of the epistemic subject. First book to apply the ideas of authority and autonomy as used in moral and political philosophy to the domain of belief. According to the suggested account, to trust a speaker is to grant her epistemic authority on the asserted proposition, and hence to see her opinion as issuing a second order, preemptive reason for believing the proposition. Charging others with epistemic vice the monist oxford.
I think her case leads us to a more radical conclusion. This book gives an extended argument for epistemic authority from the implications of reflective selfconsciousness. What is the epistemic authorityepistemic problem according to these philosophers. The value of epistemic trust has been neglected, as townsley rightly observes, but i think a virtue epistemology of the kind. My paper will indicate some directions forward on this front, focusing on the need for integration of diverse institutions and persons engaged in inquiry. Epistemic authority hardcover linda trinkaus zagzebski. Epistemic authority paperback linda trinkaus zagzebski oxford university press in this book linda trinkaus zagzebski gives an extended argument that the selfreflective person is committed to belief on authority. Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief. It says that, when an agent realizes that an epistemic authority believes that p, the epistemically rational response for her is to adopt the authoritys belief and to replace all of her previous reasons. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In this book zagzebski gives an extended argument that the selfreflective person is committed to belief on authority. In chapter 8, zagzebski examines moral epistemic authority and its limitations. Knowledge has almost always been treated as good, better than mere true belief, but it is remarkably difficult to explain what it is about knowledge that makes it better. Epistemic authority, preemptive reasons, and understanding christoph jager dept.
According to a recent account of epistemic authority proposed by linda zagzebski 2012, it is rational for laypersons to believe on authority when they conscientiously judge that the authority is more likely to form true beliefs and avoid false ones than they are in some domain. The search for the source of epistemic good zagzebski. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief reprint edition. I strongly recommend it, especially to anyone who is interested in epistemic autonomy, epistemic authority, and the rational defensibility of faith and of believing on the authority of ones epistemic community. In 2012 she held a guggenheim fellowship to complete her book, epistemic authority. Authority, and autonomy in belief by linda trinkaus zagzebski. Epistemic authority linda zagzebski epistemology and philosophy of science 53 3. Contemporary defenders of autonomy and traditional defenders of authority generally assume that they have so little in common as to make it hopeless to attempt a dialogue on the defensibility of epistemic, moral, or religious authority. An individual user may print out a pdf of a single chapter of a monograph in oso for personal use.
She argues that epistemic and emotional selftrust are rational and inescapable, that consistent selftrust commits us to trust in others, and that among those we are committed to. It aims to defend the existence of epistemic authority on grounds that almost all modern philosophers would accept. Zagzebski begins with the idea that a rational person must, on reflection. What about other epistemic values like understanding and certainty. Why are so many epistemologists worried about luck. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief. A defense of a divine attribute aquinas lecture, by linda zagzebski pdf. This is not a commonly accepted position in current epistemology, so zagzebski begins by attempting to ground the acceptance of epistemic authority in epistemic autonomy and an individuals selftrust. One of the key tenets of linda zagzebskis book epistemic authority. It has been commonplace in epistemology to give careful attention not just to epistemology as a general enterprise but also to explore in detail the epistemology of particular academic disciplines. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief 2012 is the preemption thesis for epistemic authority. Epistemic authority a theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief linda trinkaus zagzebski. Epistemic authority is compatible with autonomy, but epistemic selfreliance is incoherent. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief 2012 is the.
Your account could not be created, please check and try again. In that sense, authority can be called epistemic capital. No less than one would expect from a firstrate epistemologist who is also a master expositor. Epistemology notes stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
Epistemic authority paperback linda trinkaus zagzebski. Epistemic injustice anthologies, symposia, and overview. Project muse epistemic authority, testimony and the. Introduction a recent book by linda zagzebski, epistemic authority. On epistemology wadsworth philosophical topics linda. Epistemic authority is rich, wideranging, and provocative. Zagzebskis widely discussed work on epistemic authority zagzebski 2012. Review of linda zagzebski s epistemic authority american catholic philosophical quarterly 2014. Zagzebski sees no reason to deny that there are epistemic exemplars in the moral domain, considering the rejection of moral truth and egalitarianism as possible reasons for rejecting moral authority. Pdf on nov 7, 2012, linda trinkaus zagzebski and others published the rejection of epistemic authority find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Epistemic justice as a virtue of social institutions. It serves many purposescalling out failures of epistemic responsibility, challenging claims to epistemic authority, educating peers. The book argues that epistemic and emotional selftrust are rational and inescapable, that consistent selftrust commits us to trust in others, and that among those we are committed to. For an ingenious argument that what counts as epistemic luck cannot be fixed independently of how the epistemic agent conceives of her reasons for belief, see lando 2016.
Epistemic definition is of or relating to knowledge or knowing. Xenophanes i think he says the epistemic authority is 1 god and the epistemic problem is bridging the gap between human opinion and divine knowledge. For example, ernest sosa has argued that justified belief is belief that is grounded in epistemic virtue. In the first step of this project, she follows richard foley and william alston in arguing that there is no noncircular way to. For a booklength discussion of epistemic luck and the conceptual tools employed to capture the way knowledge and epistemic luck are incompatible, see pritchard 2005. However, my selfinterest is tempered by a sense of epistemic value, namely the. Epistemic definition of epistemic by merriamwebster. It will generously reward a careful and thorough read. Believing on another persons authority is of epistemological interest. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief, oxford university press, 2012. Igor gasparov 2017 epistemology and philosophy of science 53 3. A theory of trust, autonomy, and authority in belief, by linda trinkaus zagzebski.
Epistemology and information fred dretske epistemology is the study of knowledgeits nature, sources, limits, and forms. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief by linda trinkaus zagzebski guy longworth university of warwick 1. Since perception is an important source of knowledge, memory a common way of storing and retrieving knowledge, and reasoning and inference effective methods for extending. In this book linda trinkaus zagzebski gives an extended argument that the selfreflective person is committed to belief on authority. The level of scholarly engagement within and around epistemology and theology has grown sufficiently to permit and justify a volume on the epistemology of theology. Hence, while frickers focus on individual epistemic virtue is important, we also need to consider what epistemic justice as a virtue of social systems would require. The motive for truth in our epistemic lives i assume that a selfconscious being is both conscious of the world and conscious of. The cassandra of greek legend illustrates the complex relationships among epistemic and nonepistemic goods, as welt as the fragility of knowledge. Authority, and autonomy in belief 2012, offers an innovative account of authority in.
Presenting the background, development, and current state of affairs in epistemology, this titlea volume in the wadsworth philosophy topics seriesprovides a concise introduction to this pertinent topic of contemporary philosophical interest. I propose that we call this practice epistemic vicecharging and offer a schematic analysis of its structure. Pdf one of the key tenets of linda zagzebskis book epistemic authority. In on epistemology linda zagzebski situates epistemological questions within the broader framework of what we care about and why we care about it. A theory of trust, authority, and autonomy in belief 2012, offers an innovative account of authority in the epistemic realm.
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