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Palgrave Macmillan

Epistemic Paternalism

A Defence

  • Book
  • © 2013

Overview

Authors:
  1. Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij

    1. University of Kent, UK

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 1-5

  3. Why We Cannot Rely on Ourselves for Epistemic Improvement

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 6-38

  4. Epistemic Paternalism Defined

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 39-64

  5. On the Viability of Epistemic Paternalism: Personal Autonomy

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 65-91

  6. On the Viability of Epistemic Paternalism: Epistemic Autonomy

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 92-112

  7. Justifying Epistemic Paternalism

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 113-136

  8. Epistemic Paternalism Defended

    • Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
    Pages 137-179

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 180-194
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Keywords

About this book

Any attempt to help us reason in more accurate ways faces a problem: While we acknowledge that others stand to benefit from intellectual advice, each and every one of us tends to consider ourselves an exception, on account of overconfidence. The solution? Accept a form of epistemic paternalism.

Reviews

"As social scientists learn how to shape our environments to make us better reasoners and happier citizens, issues of autonomy and paternalism (epistemic and otherwise) are bound to become more urgent and pressing. With this book, Ahlstrom-Vij has made a clear and compelling case for the permissibility of epistemically paternalistic practices. And despite my worries, I think it is a case that, with slight modifications, wins the day."

Michael A Bishop, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij makes the case that we cannot rely on ourselves for epistemic improvement, but must instead endorse a general policy of epistemic paternalism. Epistemic paternalism, he says, is the policy of interfering with an agent's inquiry, for the epistemic good of the agent, without need of the agent's consent. That's a bold thesis, and this is an engaging and rigorously argued book."

Robert B Talisse, New Books in Philosophy

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Kent, UK

    Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij

About the author

Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. He specializes in social epistemology and epistemic normativity.

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