Socializing Epistemology

Frederick F. Schmitt is professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author of Knowledge and Belief (Routledge, 1992).

• Chapter 1 Socializing Epistemology: An Introduction Through Two Sample Issues Chapter 2 Belief-Forming Practices and the Social Chapter 3 Egoism in Epistemology Chapter 4 Speaking of Ghosts Chapter 5 A Conservative Approach to Social Epistemology Chapter 6 Contrasting Conceptions of Social Epistemology Chapter 7 The Fate of Knowledge in Social Theories of Science Chapter 8 Good Arguments Chapter 9 Accuracy in Journalism: An Economic Approach Chapter 10 A More Social Epistemology Chapter 11 Remarks on Collective Belief Chapter 12 The Justification of Group Beliefs Chapter 13 Bibliography

Is knowledge produced by rational individuals struggling mightily to unearth the objective facts? Or is it a wholly social product, reflecting interests and social structures, divorced from the world? It is a bit of each—but the trick is to integrate the rational and the social into a seamless whole. This splendid volume goes a very long way in generating a unified outlook.