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== Answer from Wikle ==
== Answer from Wikle ==
The epistemic crisis, as discussed in the sources, refers to a widespread breakdown in the ability to discern, agree upon, or trust established facts, truths, or sources of knowledge. It describes a situation where people either cannot or do not distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information, leading to confusion, disagreement, and potential conflict over what is true or false.
The epistemic crisis refers to a widespread situation where people are not sure about what to believe, unable to separate fact from fiction, and struggling to agree on shared knowledge. This crisis is marked by a high level of misinformation, disinformation, and skepticism towards established knowledge and expertise. It's a crisis of knowledge, uncertainty, and trust that affects society's ability to make informed decisions and maintain social cohesion [^1^][^2^][^3^][^4^][^5^].


The causes of the epistemic crisis are multi-faceted and somewhat disputed among the sources.
Several causes of the epistemic crisis are proposed across the sources:


Arnold Kling on his substack page argues that the crisis is largely due to a shift from a "persuasion" paradigm, where individuals use reason and evidence to convince others, to a "manipulation" paradigm, where people use techniques that might distort the truth to get others to believe what they want.  
1. **Loss of faith in experts and institutions:** Arnold Kling and Nate Silver suggest that the crisis is largely due to mistrust in experts and institutions. They argue that these entities have failed in their roles as reliable knowledge sources, leading to increased skepticism and disbelief [^1^][^4^].


The article on Conspicuous Cognition suggests that the crisis arises from both an over-reliance on experts, who can make mistakes or be swayed by political or personal biases, and a growing distrust in those experts and institutions as a result of perceived failures, a phenomenon further fueled by the rise of social media and the internet which has made it easier for misinformation and disinformation to spread.
2. **Misinformation and disinformation:** Sam Kahn points out that the rise of misinformation and disinformation, particularly through social media, has contributed to the crisis. This has made it harder for people to discern truth from falsehood, undermining trust in information sources [^5^].


Nate Silver, on his website, adds that the "expert class" is failing due to a lack of accountability and transparency, leading to public distrust and the propagation of misinformation.
3. **Polarization and tribalism:** Another cause, according to conspicuouscognition.com, is the increasing polarization and tribalism in society. This has resulted in different groups having their own "facts" and rejecting information from outside their group, leading to a breakdown in shared reality [^2^][^3^].


Sam Kahn, on his substack page, believes that the crisis is a result of an erosion of shared epistemic norms, meaning that we as a society no longer agree on how to determine what is true or false, leading to the proliferation of misinformation, "fake news," and conspiracy theories.
4. **Failure of the education system:** Both conspicuouscognition.com and Sam Kahn suggest that the education system has failed to teach critical thinking skills, making it easier for misinformation to spread and harder for people to agree on facts [^2^][^3^][^5^].


In summary, while the sources may have different emphasis, they all agree that the epistemic crisis is largely a result of changes in how people receive and process information, a lack of trust in traditional sources of knowledge, and a breakdown in shared norms and methods for determining truth.
[^1^]: (https://arnoldkling.substack.com/p/an-epistemic-crisis)
[^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)
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