The Communicative Dimensions of Social Epistemologies

Like other papers in this symposium, this essay approaches the question of responsible belief through the lens of social epistemology: what are the processes by which knowledge claims, evidence, perspectives, and arguments get shared within knowledge-making communities? In this paper, Nicholas Burbules argues that these processes are essentially communicative, and that we need to examine the conditions that make such communication knowledge-productive. Among these conditions are the enactment of communicative virtues: skills, attitudes, habits, and dispositions that are more likely to support responsible dialogue and deliberation about knowledge claims. In this argument, each of these communicative virtues is actually a cluster of interrelated qualities, not a laundry list of discrete items. Burbules explores how these virtues are learned and enacted in practice, not things that people “have” or possess. Finally, he discusses a number of potential candidates for consideration as communicative virtues.