Epistemic Authority: A Theory of Trust, Authority, and Autonomy in Belief - Hardcover

Zagzebski, Linda Trinkaus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199936471 ISBN 13: 9780199936472

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

In this book Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski gives an extended argument that the self-reflective person is committed to belief on authority. Epistemic authority is compatible with autonomy, but epistemic self-reliance is incoherent. She argues that epistemic and emotional self-trust are rational and inescapable, that consistent self-trust commits us to trust in others, and that among those we are committed to trusting are some whom we ought to treat as epistemic authorities, modeled on the well-known principles of authority of Joseph Raz. Some of these authorities can be in the moral and religious domains.

Why have people for thousands of years accepted epistemic authority in religious communities? A religious community's justification for authority is typically based on beliefs unique to that community. Unfortunately, that often means that from the community's perspective, its justifying claims are insulated from the outside; whereas from an outside perspective, epistemic authority in the community appears unjustified. But as Zagzebski's argument shows, an individual's acceptance of authority in her community can be justified by principles that outsiders accept, and the particular beliefs justified by that authority are not immune to external critiques.

About this title

About the Author:

Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski is Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion & Ethics and George Lynn Cross Research Professor at the University of Oklahoma. Her work focuses on epistemology, philosophy of religion, virtue ethics, and the metaphysics of fatalism. She is the author of many books including On Epistemology (2008), On Philosophy of Religion: An Historical Introduction (2007), Divine Motivation Theory (2004),Virtues of the Mind (1996), The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge (1991).

Review:

"Over the course of the eleven chapters of Epistemic Authority, [Zagzebski] attempts to show us how the values of intellectual flourishing and rugged self-reliance conflict."
--The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly

"Epistemic Authority is rich, wide-ranging, and provocative. I strongly recommend it, especially to anyone who is interested in epistemic autonomy, epistemic authority, and the rational defensibility of faith and of believing on the authority of one's epistemic community. It will generously reward a careful and thorough read."--Anne Baril, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"In her most recent book, Epistemic Authority, Linda Zagzebski provides a way of thinking about rationality, trust, and authority that many communities--both religious and non-religious, but especially Catholics--will find fits naturally with their considered commitments. It's worth your time to give it a careful read." -- American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly

"By themselves, her arguments...would make for a valuable book, but Zagzebski goes further, arguing for the legitimacy of epistemic authorities. In so doing, she not only locates novel conceptual space in the still-growing field of social epistemology, but she develops a rich, original position, which she then applies to a host of interesting issues in detail. In short, this is an excellent book; we predict that social epistemologists will be responding to Epistemic Authority for years to come." -- International Journal for the Study of Skepticism

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199936471
• ISBN 13: 9780199936472
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304