Knowledge-Qua in Groups
Deflationism about group knowledge is the view that a group has knowledge if and only if most of its members have that knowledge. The case against deflationism has revolved around epistemic divergence arguments, which typically aim to show that members’ knowledge isn’t necessary for group knowledge....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Michigan Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| Online Access: | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7137/ |
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| _version_ | 1850213280079937536 |
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| author | Jesper Kallestrup |
| author_facet | Jesper Kallestrup |
| author_sort | Jesper Kallestrup |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deflationism about group knowledge is the view that a group has knowledge if and only if most of its members have that knowledge. The case against deflationism has revolved around epistemic divergence arguments, which typically aim to show that members’ knowledge isn’t necessary for group knowledge. This paper is instead devoted to objections against members’ knowledge being sufficient for group knowledge. Focusing on structured groups in which members occupy roles that are connected by internal links in a social network, we develop a notion of knowledge qua such occupancy. We proceed to argue that if deflationists adopt such knowledge-qua as what constitutes structured group knowledge, they have the resources to counter worries about the sufficiency condition. If instead groups are taken to be feature collectives, then similar worries are much less pressing. Finally, we elaborate on the societal function of knowledge-qua, as well as the different epistemic assessments that arise, depending on whether the role or its occupant is considered. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ea3e4fb651c46b09f49d8b2a3148c5f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2330-4014 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Michigan Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ea3e4fb651c46b09f49d8b2a3148c5f2025-08-20T02:09:09ZengMichigan PublishingErgo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy2330-40142025-01-0112010.3998/ergo.7137Knowledge-Qua in GroupsJesper Kallestrup0Philosophy, University of AberdeenDeflationism about group knowledge is the view that a group has knowledge if and only if most of its members have that knowledge. The case against deflationism has revolved around epistemic divergence arguments, which typically aim to show that members’ knowledge isn’t necessary for group knowledge. This paper is instead devoted to objections against members’ knowledge being sufficient for group knowledge. Focusing on structured groups in which members occupy roles that are connected by internal links in a social network, we develop a notion of knowledge qua such occupancy. We proceed to argue that if deflationists adopt such knowledge-qua as what constitutes structured group knowledge, they have the resources to counter worries about the sufficiency condition. If instead groups are taken to be feature collectives, then similar worries are much less pressing. Finally, we elaborate on the societal function of knowledge-qua, as well as the different epistemic assessments that arise, depending on whether the role or its occupant is considered.https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7137/ |
| spellingShingle | Jesper Kallestrup Knowledge-Qua in Groups Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| title | Knowledge-Qua in Groups |
| title_full | Knowledge-Qua in Groups |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge-Qua in Groups |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge-Qua in Groups |
| title_short | Knowledge-Qua in Groups |
| title_sort | knowledge qua in groups |
| url | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7137/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jesperkallestrup knowledgequaingroups |