Rational Authority and Social Power: Towards a Truly Social Epistemology

Author: Fricker M.

Source: Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 98, Number 2, 1998 , pp. 159-177(19)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

This paper explores the relation between rational authority and social power, proceeding by way of a philosophical genealogy derived from Edward Craig's Knowledge and the State of Nature. The position advocated avoids the errors both of the `traditionalist' (who regards the socio-political as irrelevant to epistemology) and of the `reductivist' (who regards reason as just another form of social power). The argument is that a norm of credibility governs epistemic practice in the state of nature, which, when socially manifested, is likely to imitate the structures of social power. A phenomenon of epistemic injustice is explained, and the politicizing implication for epistemology educed.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Birkbeck College

Publication date: 1998-01-01

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