Bringing together researchers in philosophy, political science, cognitive psychology, and journalism to study knowledge, ignorance, and belief in public life.
Join the mailing listThe Political Epistemology Network brings together scholars working at the intersection of epistemology and political philosophy, as well as related fields such as political science, cognitive psychology, and journalism.
Our primary aims are to organize an annual conference and to foster a greater sense of community among those working in the broad area of political epistemology. The network is also associated with the visiting-speaker seminar series New Directions in Political Epistemology.
We are an Affiliate Group of the American Philosophical Association, which allows us to hold sessions at its annual meetings.
Founded by Michael Hannon
University of Nottingham
“Political Normativity and Epistemic Normativity” — Fabienne Peter (Warwick)
“Recommended Selves: Authenticity and Algorithmic Filtering” — Etienne Brown (San José State)
“Betting Democracy on Epistemology” — Michael Hannon (Nottingham)
“Political Truth” — Michael Lynch (UConn)
“Beyond Misinformation” — Carolina Flores (UC Santa Cruz)
Eric Beerbohm (Harvard), Zeynep Pamuk (LSE), Fabienne Peter (Warwick), Elise Woodard (MIT), Russell Muirhead (Dartmouth), Alex Guerrero (Rutgers), and Kevin Elliott (Murray State).
“What’s Wrong with Political Deference?” — Elise Woodard (MIT)
“Belief Formation in Antagonistic Information Environments” — Endre Begby (SFU)
“The Skeptical Upshot of Social Cognition” — Hrishikesh Joshi (BGSU)
Keynotes: Briana Toole (Claremont McKenna), Aidan McGlynn (Edinburgh), and Jana Bacevic (Durham).
Keynotes: Fabienne Peter (Warwick) and Kai Spiekermann (LSE).
“What Is Political Epistemology for?” — Regina Rini (York)
“Political Truth” — Michael Lynch (UConn)
“The Politics of Expertise” — Maria Baghramian (Dublin)
“(When) Do Political and Epistemic Norms Conflict?” — Alex Worsnip (UNC Chapel Hill)
“Science in Public Reason” — Klemens Kappel
“Knowledge and Neutrality” — Chelsea Rosenthal
“Conspiracy Theories and Propaganda” — Giulia Napolitano
“Poverty, Meritocracy, & Epistemic Injustice” — Alfred Archer and Leonie Smith
“Epistemic Injustice and the Problem of Antifeminist Women” — Elizabeth Portella
“Fake News as a Noxious Market” — Frank Cabrera and Megan Fritts
Keynotes: Regina Rini (York) and Annette Zimmerman (Princeton).
Chair: Elizabeth Edenberg
“Is There Political Expertise?” — Amanda R. Greene
“The Illusion of Political Disagreement” — Michael Hannon
“Autonomy, Free Speech, & the Legal Regulation of Fake News” — Étienne Brown
Keynotes: Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff) and Lisa Herzog (Groningen).
With talks by Jason Stanley (Yale), Åsa Wikforss (Stockholm), Quassim Cassam (Warwick), Sarah Churchwell (London), and Michael Lynch (Connecticut).
Hosted by the AHRC-funded project Norms for the New Public Sphere, bringing philosophers together with media scholars, activists, and professionals to investigate the epistemic norms that can foster a public sphere in which democracy can flourish.
When the price of being adequately informed is high, it can make sense for voters to be guided by comfort, affiliation, and belonging. Does this conflict with the epistemic demands of democracy, and if political belief is driven by social identity and tribal allegiance, does that make us irrational?
How do misinformation and echo chambers contribute to polarization? Can online deliberation counteract them, and what speech, if any, should be prohibited on the internet?
A workshop for fourteen contributors to the volume Political Epistemology: David Estlund, Fabienne Peter, Elizabeth Edenberg, Jason Brennan, Catherine Elgin, Alexander Guerrero, Thomas Christiano, Regina Rini, Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij, Michael Hannon, Michael Lynch, Robert Talisse, Jeroen de Ridder, and Jennifer Lackey.
Part of the Being Human festival: four short public talks and open discussion on post-truth politics, held in a pub in central London.
Funded by the Institute of Philosophy and a British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award. Speakers from around the world presented cutting-edge research at the intersection of epistemology and political philosophy.
Our kickoff event drew over 200 submissions, from which five speakers were selected. Keynotes: Elizabeth Anderson, Robert Talisse, and Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij.
An accessible yet rigorous introduction to political epistemology, covering the role of truth in politics, the epistemology of disagreement, voter ignorance and irrationality, distrust of experts, the epistemic value of democracy, and epistocracy.
Truth and Politics · Epistemic Democracy · Epistemic Democracy Reconsidered · Political Ignorance · Irrationality and Bias · Political Belief · Political Disagreement · Polarization and Partisanship · Trust and Expertise · Rethinking Democracy.
Explores how the tools of epistemology bear on political philosophy and vice versa, organized around truth and knowledge in politics, epistemic problems for democracy, and disagreement and polarization.
Contributors: Elizabeth Anderson, Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij, Jason Brennan, Quassim Cassam, Thomas Christiano, Elizabeth Edenberg, David Estlund, Alexander Guerrero, Michael Hannon, Jennifer Lackey, Michael P. Lynch, Fabienne Peter, Jeroen de Ridder, Regina Rini, Jennifer Steele, Robert B. Talisse, and Briana Toole.
30% off · code AAFLYG6
Forty-one chapters by an international team of contributors, across seven parts:
1. Politics and truth: historical and contemporary perspectives · 2. Political disagreement and polarization · 3. Fake news, propaganda, and misinformation · 4. Ignorance and irrationality in politics · 5. Epistemic virtues and vices in politics · 6. Democracy and epistemology · 7. Trust, expertise, and doubt.
20% off · code FLY21
A companion video series for The Routledge Handbook of Political Epistemology, with contributors introducing their chapters.
The Point of Political Belief
Michael Hannon (Nottingham) & Jeroen de Ridder (Amsterdam)
Regulating the Spread of Misinformation Online
Etienne Brown (San José)
Pragmatic Encroachment and Political Ignorance
Kenneth Boyd (Southern Denmark)
Virtues and Vices in Public and Political Debate
Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff)
Epistemic Norms of Political Deliberation
Fabienne Peter (Warwick)
The Cognitive Science of Fake News
Neil Levy (Macquarie) & Robert Ross (Royal Holloway)
Epistemic Networks and Polarization
Daniel Singer, Patrick Grim, Aaron Bramson, Bennett Holman, Jiin Jung & William J. Berger
Asymmetrical Irrationality: Are Only Other People Stupid?
Robin McKenna (Liverpool)
Online Trust and Doubt
Mark Alfano (Macquarie) & Emily Sullivan (Eindhoven)
The Skeptic and the Climate Change Skeptic
Alex Worsnip (UNC Chapel Hill)
Photographs from our inaugural London conference, courtesy of Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa.
Become a PENpal to hear about conferences, the seminar series, and new work in the field.