Epistemic Disagreement in Social Epistemology

The article presents the problem of epistemic disagreement as part of social epistemology, particularly considering the conditions of rational disagreement (equal weight view). Against this background some versions of epistemic “bootstrapping” are addressed that serve to give advantage to one of the disputing parties. As a result, a conclusion is drawn that the kinds of bootstrapping portrayed are epistemically irrelevant, which also casts doubt on Bayesian epistemology, for it mixes two different types of rational decision making – practical and epistemic.

Keywords: social epistemology, epistemology of disagreement, Bayesian epistemology, equal weight view, bootstrapping.