Epistemic/
Truth

Marc Jungblut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany
marc.jungblut@ifkw.lmu.de

Opinions can be differentiated based on a variety of qualities, with one aspect being their epistemic quality. The epistemic quality refers to the certainty with which a person believes that a statement about the past, present, or a potential future is true. The epistemic status of opinions thus distinguishes what people believe to be facts from what they see as speculations.

A central point of departure for research on the epistemic quality of opinions is the philosophical tradition of epistemology. This field is concerned with theorising whether and how individuals can access reality to construct knowledge and beliefs. Scholars working on epistemology can be placed on a continuum between extreme skepticism (e.g., constructivism), which claims that knowledge is entirely mediated and that objective reality is inaccessible, and everyday realism that is certain about our access to the factual world.

One focus of empirical research on the epistemic quality of statements revolves around their potential impact on recipients. In this context, prospect theory has provided valuable insights into the behavioural consequences of diverse epistemic outlooks on potential loss and gain. It highlights that individuals tend to prefer a certain outcome with a lower expected gain over a risky choice with a higher expected gain.

Research on the epistemic quality of public discourse is focused on what has been termed an ’epistemic crisis’ in democratic debate. This is grounded in the observation that the traditional linear knowledge-order process, where journalism served as the primary intermediary between elites and audiences, has changed into a more dynamic process, in which elites can directly engage with the audience. Combined with substantial changes in the political and societal environment, this has led to what is often referred to as a ’post-truth society’ where the epistemic status of statements is more contested than ever before.

Keywords: epistemic quality, post-truth society, epistemology, knowledge, opinion formation

Related Entries: Epistemic Community, Evidence, Foundedness

References:
Bennett, W., & Livingston, S. (2020). The Disinformation Age. Cambridge University Press.
Neuberger, C., Bartsch, A., Fröhlich, R., Hanitzsch, T., Reinemann, C., & Schindler, J. (2023). The digital transformation of knowledge order: A model for the analysis of the epistemic crisis. Annals of the International Communication Association, 47(2), 180-201.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5(2), 207-232.