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The Role of Community in Inquiry [microform] : a Philosophical Study

K. Brad Wray

出版	Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Ontario, 1997
ISBN	06122853089780612285309
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=SHacAQAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋

I argue that many philosophers who argue for a more social epistemology are mistaken about what role the community plays in inquiry, and that only individuals are epistemic agents--only they believe, know, and act rationally. In this respect, traditional individualist epistemologies are correct. I also argue that what is distinctively and irreducibly social about inquiry are the norms and processes that mediate our interaction with each other. These norms and processes require numerous individuals to sustain them. Further, I argue that given this understanding of the role of the community in inquiry we are required to change our understanding of both the nature and role of the individual knower, and the project of epistemology. Individual knowers are dynamic, changing their conception of themselves as they interact in the world with others. An integral but hitherto neglected part of epistemology is the evaluation of the social processes that mediate our interaction with others.