What is the epistemic crisis?
Question
- What is the epistemic crisis?
Sources
- https://arnoldkling.substack.com/p/an-epistemic-crisis
- https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/americas-epistemological-crisis
Answer from Wikle
An epistemic crisis refers to a situation where there is a widespread lack of trust or confidence in the institutions that are supposed to provide reliable information or knowledge. This crisis can manifest in various ways, such as conspiracy theories, misinformation, polarization, and lack of consensus on facts.
In the first source, Arnold Kling argues that the epistemic crisis is due to the loss of trust in the mainstream media and the rise of alternative media sources, which often provide conflicting information. This has led to a fragmentation of the information ecosystem, where different groups of people live in their own information bubbles, often with little overlap or understanding of one another.
In the second source, the author suggests that America's epistemological crisis is centered around a breakdown in the shared understanding of reality, truth, and facts. This is largely due to the rise of social media and the internet, which has democratized information but also made it easier for misinformation and fake news to spread. The author argues that this has led to a situation where people are increasingly living in different informational realities, leading to increased polarization and division.