Epistemic Normativity from an Evolutionary Epistemological Point of View

Abstract This paper explores how evolutionary epistemology can offer insights into the discussion of naturalization of epistemology and normativity. Living organisms have an inherent disposition to continue living – i.e., staying in homeostasis – which they accomplish through an anticipatory regulatory process called allostasis. Organisms only survive under certain conditions, and so their actions and predictions need to be “good enough” for the organism, and species, to continue existing. That is, if their actions and predictions are successful or accurate to a satisficing degree, they will have a higher chance of surviving. Since congruence between model and world is conducive to survival, evolution will tend to select for mechanisms that engender such congruence. With this in mind, we argue that the world provides a naturally grounded ‘truth-connected’ normative standard, indicating that epistemic normativity is shaped by an inherent biological disposition to persist in a perilous world.