Prejudice: A Study in Non-Ideal Epistemology

$19.31
by Endre Begby

Shop Now
Prejudiced beliefs may certainly seem like defective beliefs. But in what sense are they defective? Many will be false and harmful, but philosophers have further argued that prejudiced belief is defective also in the sense that it could only arise from distinctive kinds of epistemic irrationality: we could acquire or retain our prejudiced beliefs only by violating our epistemic responsibilities. It is also assumed that we are only morally responsible for the harms that prejudiced beliefs cause because, in forming these beliefs in the first place, we are violating our epistemic responsibilities. In Prejudice , Endre Begby argues that these common convictions are misguided. His discussion shows in detail that there are many epistemically justified pathways to prejudiced belief, and that it is a mistake to lean on the concept of epistemic responsibility to articulate our ethical responsibilities. Doing so unreasonably burdens victims of prejudice with having to show that their victimizers were in a position to know better. Accordingly, Begby provides an account of moral responsibility for harm which does not depend on finding grounds for epistemic blame. This view is supported by a number of examples and case studies at individual, collective, and institutional levels of decision making. Additionally, Begby develops a systematic platform for "non-ideal epistemology" which would apply to a wide range of other social and epistemic phenomena of current concern, such as fake news, conspiracy theories, science scepticism, and more. "... this book provides lucid and thought-provoking descriptions of how people may acquire prejudiced beliefs in fraught socio epistemological environments." -- Katherine Puddifoot, Department of Philosophy, Durham University, Durham, England, Metascience "This book provides lucid and thought provoking descriptions of how people may acquire prejudiced beliefs in fraught socio-epistemological environments." -- Katherine Puddifoot, Metascience "The book does an excellent job motivating inquiry into what a system of epistemic norms for agents with our specific cognitive and situational limitations would look like." -- Renée Jorgensen, Ethics Endre Begby, Simon Fraser University Endre Begby received his MA degree from the University of Oslo and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Simon Fraser University. His areas of specialization include epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, as well as social and political philosophy.

Customer Reviews

No ratings. Be the first to rate

 customer ratings


How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review This Product

Share your thoughts with other customers