What to Believe Now: Applying Epistemology to Contemporary IssuesWhat can we know and what should we believe about today's world? What to Believe Now: Applying Epistemology to Contemporary Issues applies the concerns and techniques of epistemology to a wide variety of contemporary issues. Questions about what we can know-and what we should believe-are first addressed through an explicit consideration of the practicalities of working these issues out at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Coady calls for an 'applied turn' in epistemology, a process he likens to the applied turn that transformed the study of ethics in the early 1970s. Subjects dealt with include:
Timely, thought provoking, and controversial, What to Believe Now offers a wealth of insights into a branch of philosophy of growing importance-and increasing relevance-in the twenty-first century. |
Contents
Experts and the Laity | 27 |
Epistemic Democracy | 59 |
Rumors and RumorMongers | 86 |
Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracy Theorists | 110 |
The Blogosphere and the Conventional Media | 138 |
Conclusion | 169 |
| 188 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Accessed December 11 Allport and Postman Alvin Goldman anonymity applied epistemology Aremac argue argument assume believe rumors bloggers blogosphere blogs CCTV CCTV cameras chapter claim clear common concept concerns consequentialist consider conspiracy theories conventional media course critics David Coady debate defend degree of belief deliberative democracy elections epistemic democrats error ethics evidence example expertise fact false falsehoods filtering practices Glenn Greenwald global warming Goold Hence information cascades intellectual interest issue journalists knowledge least matter mean media filtering moral experts Nonetheless novice official opinion Pigden plausibility political Popper position Posner privacy rights problem question rational reason reductionism reliable Richard Posner right to privacy rumor-mongers seems self-interest sense skepticism social epistemology society someone sources Sunstein suppose surveillance testimony theorists things topic true belief truth typically urban legend veritistic virtue virtue epistemology voters votes are statements Wikipedia wrong