
Social epistemology has been flourishing in recent years, expanding and making connections with political philosophy, virtue epistemology, philosophy of science, and feminist philosophy. The philosophy of the social world too is flourishing, with burgeoning work in the metaphysics of the social world, collective responsibility, group action, and group belief. The new philosophical vista now more clearly presenting itself is collective epistemology—the epistemology of groups and institutions. Groups engage in epistemic activity all the time—whether it be the active collective inquiry of scientific research groups or crime detection units, or the evidential deliberations of tribunals and juries, or the informational efforts of the voting population in general—and yet in philosophy there is still relatively little epistemology of groups to help explore these epistemic practices and their various dimensions of social and philosophical significance. The aim of this book is to address this lack, by presenting original essays in the field of collective epistemology, exploring these regions of epistemic practice and their significance for Epistemology, Political Philosophy, Ethics, and the Philosophy of Science.
This collection of essays investigates the theoretical foundations and practical implications of collective epistemology, specifically focusing on how groups and institutions function as epistemic agents. Editors Michael S. Brady and Miranda Fricker compile original research that bridges gaps between social epistemology, political philosophy, and the metaphysics of the social world. The volume argues that because groups engage in constant epistemic activity, there is a critical need for a formal framework to analyze their collective inquiry, deliberation, and belief-forming processes.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts identify this volume as a significant contribution to the burgeoning field of collective epistemology, noting its utility for researchers in both ethics and the philosophy of science. Readers frequently highlight the academic density of the prose, which is intended for advanced students and professional philosophers.
Page Count:
263
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191077747
ISBN-13:
9780191077746
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