You can't get there from here

How the folk-epistemological basis of everyday argument constrains public debate, why we should worry, and what to do about it

Talk by Associate Professor Frank Zenker, Lund University and Universität Konstanz.

Empirical research originating in social psychology suggests that lay persons' argumentation with respect to issues of both facts and values significantly deviates from what experts in epistemology or practical philosophy recognize as current best standards, broadly conceived. This goes some way towards explaining why our public discourse is as (poor) it is; those seeking to improve the status quo, however, also need to recognize that factors of a more political nature are at play.

This talk briefly outlines basic insights into folk-epistemology, provides application examples also in the domain of values, and stresses that ameliorating the status quo must also be understood as an ultimately political action.