The Communicative Dimensions of Social Epistemologies

Abstract 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.