Epistemic Trustworthiness as a Communal Virtue

APSE-CEU-IVC Talks
The Philosophy Department of the Central European University, the Institute Vienna Circle and the Unit for Applied Philosophy of Science and Epistemology APSE (of the Department of Philosophy of the Universtiy of Vienna) are jointly organising a series of talks this term

Date: 20/05/2021

Time: 15h00

Online Plattform: The meeting will be online via Zoom | Talks in Philosophy of Science and Epistemology PSE

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Abstract:

In this paper I argue that although epistemic trust and trustworthiness are paradigmatically applied to the case of individuals involved in personal trust relations, they are concepts that can also be appropriately applied to epistemic communities. Furthermore, it is important that we do so if we are to understand the challenges that people face when large areas of specialized knowledge are only available to them through communities and institutions that produce and deliver such knowledge. Although a common way of conceptualizing the virtue of communal epistemic trustworthiness involves a reliabilist approach—communities are epistemically trustworthy when they reliably generate sound epistemic results—I point out the limitations of this approach. Instead, I pursue a conception more closely aligned with a responsibilist approach to virtues. On my analysis, the epistemic trustworthiness of communities will involve not only the generation of reliable results but also a responsiveness to the epistemic needs of those outside of it if it is to be a trustworthy community for others.