We have the pleasure to invite you to another research seminar. Drew Johnson is going to give a talk title The Problems of Certainty in Public Discourse. The seminar will take place on the 10th of July at 5:30 p.m. in the room 25 on Grodzka Street and via MS Teams.

Abstract

What is the intellectually responsible way to relate to certainty? When is being certain of something a reasonable psychological attitude, and when is it unreasonable? How does the attitude of certainty contribute to social epistemic problems such as deep disagreement, political polarization, and epistemic injustice, and how can we address these problems?

This project develops a framework for understanding certainty and applies it to analyze and address problems of certainty. The proposed framework is situated within the field of hinge epistemology, a family of theories that take inspiration from Wittgenstein's idea that “the questions we raise and our doubts depend on the fact that some propositions are exempt from doubt, as it were like the hinges on which those turn” (1969 §341). I propose a “resilient relativist” form of hinge epistemology that is designed for application in social epistemology. Using this framework, I argue that deep disagreements are rooted in conflicting core certainties, and that political polarization occurs where core certainties become tools for social inclusion and exclusion. In addition, core certainties can encode social biases, which contributes to an explanation of testimonial silencing.

I argue that promoting intellectual humility of a specific sort is essential for addressing problems of certainty in public discourse. The relevant form of intellectual humility consists in a self-knowledge of one’s core certainties as such, and an acceptance of the rational groundlessness of those certainties. Taking responsibility for the “groundlessness of our believing” allows one to engage in more productive discussion across disagreement and allows for improving changes to one’s epistemic perspective.