Beyond Rationality: Reconciling Non-Ideal Agency and Epistemology in the Community
Location
Room 217, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
110
Start Date
4-5-2023 8:30 AM
End Date
4-5-2023 8:45 AM
College
Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Philosophy
Abstract
Divisive issues like vaccine hesitancy and climate change call into question whether people maintain an allegiance to facts and reason in contemporary society. The inability for similarly equipped people to reach the same conclusions suggests that rationality may be precarious. This paper explores the nature of rational belief in society, both in a theoretical sense through epistemic puzzles and practical sense through real world issues. I argue there is a gap between what we can expect of rational agents and what constitutes epistemically good reasoning. I find that a community based epistemology can remedy reasoning issues created by an agent's rational yet flawed nature. I suggest that implementing a community based epistemology in political theory is the best way to affect change and encourage epistemic virtue. To apply this argument, I interrogate how John Rawls and Robert Nozick frame epistemic considerations in their political theory and how augmenting these concerns would better situate the content and interpretation of their theories. I conclude by suggesting that certain epistemic flaws may be inescapable, but implementing a community based epistemology creates a system that is more reactive to human nature.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Devon Brickhouse-Bryson Dr. Lorna Dawson Dr. Laura Kicklighter
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Beyond Rationality: Reconciling Non-Ideal Agency and Epistemology in the Community
Room 217, Schewel Hall
Divisive issues like vaccine hesitancy and climate change call into question whether people maintain an allegiance to facts and reason in contemporary society. The inability for similarly equipped people to reach the same conclusions suggests that rationality may be precarious. This paper explores the nature of rational belief in society, both in a theoretical sense through epistemic puzzles and practical sense through real world issues. I argue there is a gap between what we can expect of rational agents and what constitutes epistemically good reasoning. I find that a community based epistemology can remedy reasoning issues created by an agent's rational yet flawed nature. I suggest that implementing a community based epistemology in political theory is the best way to affect change and encourage epistemic virtue. To apply this argument, I interrogate how John Rawls and Robert Nozick frame epistemic considerations in their political theory and how augmenting these concerns would better situate the content and interpretation of their theories. I conclude by suggesting that certain epistemic flaws may be inescapable, but implementing a community based epistemology creates a system that is more reactive to human nature.