Epistemic Norms as Social Norms

Abstract

Epistemic norms are the normative sensibilities by which folk regulate their epistemic practices. Like the rules of grammar, epistemic rules guide epistemic activity without necessarily being fully articulated in the minds of those who are guided by them. Epistemic norms are thus the extant epistemic normative sensibilities possessed by agents that influence the production and dissemination of an important epistemic good. Such norms reflect the information available at the time—information bearing on what has apparently been reliable, in what combinations, with what weaknesses, and how such weaknesses may be patched. Epistemic norms as social norms serve goods that individuals in a group have reason to pursue. Shared epistemic norms allow for a coordinated community pursuit of epistemic goods. To the extent that epistemic practice in a community is regulated by shared norms, people can readily rely on results gotten elsewhere in the community.