New publication on Epistemic Paternalism

Cover of Epistemic Paternalism: A Defence

Palgrave Macmillan has just published a new book by Dr Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij, Lecturer in Philosophy, entitled Epistemic Paternalism: A Defence.

The book argues that, while we know that we are fallible creatures, liable to cognitive bias, we also have a strong and stubborn tendency to overestimate our reasoning capacities, which presents a problem for any attempt to help us reason in more accurate ways: While we might see the point of others heeding intellectual advice and relying on reasoning aids, each and every one of us will tend not to see the point of doing so ourselves. The solution to this problem lies in accepting a form of epistemic paternalism. Accepting such paternalism is to accept that we are sometimes justified in interfering with the inquiry of another without her consent but for her own epistemic good. Because when it comes to our freedom to conduct inquiry in whatever way we see fit, more is not always better. In fact, less is often more.

For more details of the book from Palgrave Macmillan, please see: http://us.macmillan.com/epistemicpaternalism/KristofferAhlstromVij

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