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What is the epistemic crisis?

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== Question ==
What is the “epistemic crisis”?
What is the epistemic crisis?  
Most of the authors listed use the phrase to describe a breakdown in the public’s capacity to agree on basic facts or to trust the institutions that once certified those facts.  They point to a widening gap between “expert” knowledge and public belief, a collapse in confidence in media, academia, and government, and a sense that citizens no longer share a stable reality on which to deliberate policy or politics [2] [4] [5] [7].  Arnold Kling is wary of calling it a full-blown “crisis,” but concedes that we face a growing problem of “intellectual pollution” that makes reliable knowledge harder to identify [1].
What is the cause of the epistemic crisis?
 
What are some examples of elite failure the caused the epistemic crisis?
What is the cause of the crisis?
1. Accumulated elite mistakes.  Repeated, highly visible errors by governments, scientists, journalists and other authorities have damaged credibility [3] [4] [6] [10]. 
2. Incentive structures inside knowledge-producing institutions.  Career pressure, ideological conformity and media herd behaviour reward attention and consensus more than accuracy [4] [7] [10] [11]. 
3. Information-environment change.  Social media, niche outlets and algorithmic feeds amplify both expert messaging and its critique, making it harder to distinguish signal from noise [2] [5] [12]. 
4. A replication and verification shortfall.  In fields like psychology, most published findings do not hold up under scrutiny, undermining faith in “settled science” [8].
 
Some authors disagree on emphasis: Kling [1] and the Boston Review essay [12] see talk of a crisis as overstated or as a moral panic about “misinformation,” whereas Silver [4] and Kahn [5] argue that institutional rot is deep enough to justify the word.
 
Examples of elite failure that fuelled the crisis 
• 2003 Iraq-WMD intelligence fiasco (used by several writers as an early benchmark of expert error) [6]. 
• The 2008–09 financial crisis, when regulators and economists failed to foresee systemic risk [3] [4]. 
• COVID-19 communication reversals—e.g., early mask guidance, school-closure debates, and the lab-leak fight—showing scientific advice being issued with more certainty than evidence warranted [4] [6] [10]. 
• The “replication crisis” in psychology and other social sciences, with roughly three-quarters of tested findings failing to reproduce [8]. 
• Media “herd” errors such as uniform polling narratives in 2016 and 2020, and the quick suppression of the Hunter-Biden-laptop story, later partly reversed, illustrating how newsroom conformity can misinform the public [7] [9] [10]. 
• Higher-education governance controversies—DEI bureaucracies, speech codes, retracted papers—seen by some writers as evidence that universities privilege ideology over truth-seeking [11].
 
Public discourse 
Across Substack, mainstream newspapers, and podcasts, two broad camps have emerged.  One camp (Silver, Harris, Yglesias, Kahn) stresses structural problems inside elite institutions and urges major reforms before trust can be rebuilt [4] [5] [6] [10].  A second camp (Kling, Boston Review, parts of mainstream media) argues that the notion of a singular “crisis” can itself be exploited to delegitimise expertise and that pluralistic disagreement is normal in a free society [1] [12].  Despite differences, both sides concede that the health of our epistemic institutions now figures centrally in debates over democracy, populism and policy.
 
— Written by WikleBot. Help improve this answer by adding to the sources below.


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
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# https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-fake-news-about-fake-news/
# https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-fake-news-about-fake-news/


== Answer from Wikle ==
== Question ==
The epistemic crisis refers to a critical situation in society where the credibility and reliability of information sources are heavily questioned, and where the very methods by which we acquire and verify knowledge are under scrutiny (1,2,5). It is a crisis of trust where people are uncertain of what to believe and who to trust (9).
What is the epistemic crisis?
 
What is the cause of the epistemic crisis?
The cause of the epistemic crisis is multifaceted. According to some authors, it is primarily due to a combination of elite failures and the spread of misinformation (3,6,10). Many elites, including experts, politicians, and media outlets, have failed to accurately predict or manage significant events, leading to a loss of public trust (3,6). These failures are often exacerbated by the spread of misinformation, which further erodes public trust and fuels the crisis (10).
What are some examples of elite failure the caused the epistemic crisis?
 
Examples of these elite failures include the inaccurate prediction of the 2008 financial crisis, the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the widespread dissemination of false information in the media (3,6,10). There are also instances of scientific claims being proven false, further undermining the credibility of expert knowledge (8).
 
The public discourse on the subject reflects deep concern about the state of knowledge and truth in society. Some argue that the media often moves in unison, perpetuating a particular narrative rather than providing diverse perspectives (7). Others note that elite misinformation is an underrated problem that contributes significantly to the crisis (10).
 
The epistemic crisis is a contentious issue, with different authors attributing it to different causes and proposing different solutions. For instance, while some believe that the crisis stems from elite failures and misinformation (3,6,10), others argue that it is primarily a result of the public's lack of trust in institutions and experts (9). This lack of consensus underscores the complexity of the crisis and the challenges involved in resolving it.
 
It should be noted that while these sources provide valuable insights into the epistemic crisis, they represent a particular perspective and may not cover all aspects of the issue. Further research and discussion are needed to fully understand the crisis and develop effective responses.

Revision as of 02:31, 27 April 2025

What is the “epistemic crisis”? Most of the authors listed use the phrase to describe a breakdown in the public’s capacity to agree on basic facts or to trust the institutions that once certified those facts. They point to a widening gap between “expert” knowledge and public belief, a collapse in confidence in media, academia, and government, and a sense that citizens no longer share a stable reality on which to deliberate policy or politics [2] [4] [5] [7]. Arnold Kling is wary of calling it a full-blown “crisis,” but concedes that we face a growing problem of “intellectual pollution” that makes reliable knowledge harder to identify [1].

What is the cause of the crisis? 1. Accumulated elite mistakes. Repeated, highly visible errors by governments, scientists, journalists and other authorities have damaged credibility [3] [4] [6] [10]. 2. Incentive structures inside knowledge-producing institutions. Career pressure, ideological conformity and media herd behaviour reward attention and consensus more than accuracy [4] [7] [10] [11]. 3. Information-environment change. Social media, niche outlets and algorithmic feeds amplify both expert messaging and its critique, making it harder to distinguish signal from noise [2] [5] [12]. 4. A replication and verification shortfall. In fields like psychology, most published findings do not hold up under scrutiny, undermining faith in “settled science” [8].

Some authors disagree on emphasis: Kling [1] and the Boston Review essay [12] see talk of a crisis as overstated or as a moral panic about “misinformation,” whereas Silver [4] and Kahn [5] argue that institutional rot is deep enough to justify the word.

Examples of elite failure that fuelled the crisis • 2003 Iraq-WMD intelligence fiasco (used by several writers as an early benchmark of expert error) [6]. • The 2008–09 financial crisis, when regulators and economists failed to foresee systemic risk [3] [4]. • COVID-19 communication reversals—e.g., early mask guidance, school-closure debates, and the lab-leak fight—showing scientific advice being issued with more certainty than evidence warranted [4] [6] [10]. • The “replication crisis” in psychology and other social sciences, with roughly three-quarters of tested findings failing to reproduce [8]. • Media “herd” errors such as uniform polling narratives in 2016 and 2020, and the quick suppression of the Hunter-Biden-laptop story, later partly reversed, illustrating how newsroom conformity can misinform the public [7] [9] [10]. • Higher-education governance controversies—DEI bureaucracies, speech codes, retracted papers—seen by some writers as evidence that universities privilege ideology over truth-seeking [11].

Public discourse Across Substack, mainstream newspapers, and podcasts, two broad camps have emerged. One camp (Silver, Harris, Yglesias, Kahn) stresses structural problems inside elite institutions and urges major reforms before trust can be rebuilt [4] [5] [6] [10]. A second camp (Kling, Boston Review, parts of mainstream media) argues that the notion of a singular “crisis” can itself be exploited to delegitimise expertise and that pluralistic disagreement is normal in a free society [1] [12]. Despite differences, both sides concede that the health of our epistemic institutions now figures centrally in debates over democracy, populism and policy.

— Written by WikleBot. Help improve this answer by adding to the sources below.

Sources

  1. An Epistemic Crisis? - Arnold Kling
  2. https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/americas-epistemological-crisis
  3. https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/elite-failures-and-populist-backlash
  4. https://www.natesilver.net/p/the-expert-class-is-failing-and-so
  5. https://samkahn.substack.com/p/its-the-epistemology-stupid
  6. https://samharris.substack.com/p/the-reckoning
  7. https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-the-media-moves-in-unison
  8. https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/75-of-psychology-claims-are-false
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/28/jeff-bezos-washington-post-trust/
  10. https://www.slowboring.com/p/elite-misinformation-is-an-underrated
  11. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/man5gslt4zforzakwrs5y/johnsailer_subs.pdf?rlkey=3rpu6pqmektvckyf733qn3ksg&e=1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack&dl=0
  12. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-fake-news-about-fake-news/

Question

What is the epistemic crisis? What is the cause of the epistemic crisis? What are some examples of elite failure the caused the epistemic crisis?

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