Author Archives

• Group-Strapping, Bubble, or Echo Chamber? C. Thi Nguyen

  By SERRC on June 24, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Here’s what we’re all desperately trying to explain: certain groups seem to have a wildly over-inflated devotion to their beliefs. Such groups seem to flourish online. Their members seem to resist very good contrary evidence, and to slowly become more… Read More ›

• Uptake of a Conspiracy Theory Attribution: Part 2, Brian Martin

  By SERRC on June 20, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  Kylar Loussikian’s article, aided by efforts by pro-vaccination campaigners, triggered an enormous response. The online version of his article attracted hundreds of comments. A few bloggers wrote hostile commentaries about the thesis. There was an online petition against the thesis,… Read More ›

• Uptake of a Conspiracy Theory Attribution: Part 1, Brian Martin

  By SERRC on June 18, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  Claiming that someone subscribes to a conspiracy theory can be a potent method of denigration. I observed this process up close. The thesis of one of my doctoral students was alleged to endorse a conspiracy theory, therefore discrediting it. Journalists,… Read More ›

• A Pyrrhonist Reply to a Fortrean Review: Part 2, Bernard Wills

  By SERRC on June 16, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  Dentith wonders about the form and genre of the book. He attempts to categorize it as an exercise in ‘Fortean’ philosophy to which I suppose I have no objection except that I prefer the label ‘Pyrrhonian’ because ‘Fortean’ would confine… Read More ›

• A Pyrrhonist Reply to a Fortrean Review: Part 1, Bernard Wills

  By SERRC on June 12, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  The Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective has asked me to respond to a review of my book Believing Weird Things (2018) putting me in the awkward position of having to comment on something to which I am inherently partial…. Read More ›

• Groupstrapping, Bootstrapping, and Oops-strapping: A Reply to Boyd, Bert Baumgaertner

  By SERRC on June 10, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Kenneth Boyd’s paper “Epistemically Pernicious Groups and the Groupstrapping Problem” (2019) is an excellent example of how philosophers can contribute to social sciences through conceptual engineering. Boyd introduces what he calls groupstrapping. The idea begins with the claim that groups… Read More ›

• More on Refusing Evil, Brian Martin

  By SERRC on June 1, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  In my article “Technology and Evil,” I presented Steven Bartlett’s ideas about human evil, considered as a clinical term referring to destructiveness towards other humans, other species and the environment. Applying Bartlett’s analysis to technology leads to a number of… Read More ›

• The Place of the Notion of the Weird in Today’s Thinking, Lyudmila Markova

  By SERRC on May 28, 2019 • ( 1 )

  

  Author Information: Lyudmila Markova, Russian Academy of Sciences, l.a.markova@yandex.ru. Markova, Lyudmila. “The Place of the Notion of the Weird in Today’s Thinking.” Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 8, no. 5 (2019): 48-51. The pdf of the article gives specific… Read More ›

• A Dialogue on a Paradigm Case of Bad Science, Alan Sokal

  By SERRC on May 23, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Author Information: Alan Sokal, New York University, sokal@nyu.edu. Sokal, Alan. “A Dialogue on a Paradigm Case of Bad Science: Comment on Brian Martin.” Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 8, no. 5 (2019): 36-47. The pdf of the article gives… Read More ›

• Objective Expertise and Functionalist Constraints (Part Two), Michel Croce

  By SERRC on May 21, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Author Information: Michel Croce, University of Edinburgh, michel.croce@ed.ac.uk. Croce, Michel. “Objective Expertise and Functionalist Constraints.” Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 8, no. 5 (2019): 25-35. The pdf of the article gives specific page references. This essay is published in… Read More ›