What is the epistemic crisis?
Question
- What is the epistemic crisis?
- What is the cause of the epistemic crisis?
Sources
- https://arnoldkling.substack.com/p/an-epistemic-crisis
- https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/americas-epistemological-crisis
- https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/elite-failures-and-populist-backlash
- https://www.natesilver.net/p/the-expert-class-is-failing-and-so
- https://samkahn.substack.com/p/its-the-epistemology-stupid
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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 causes of the epistemic crisis are multi-faceted and somewhat disputed among 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.