Testimonial monitoring and the redundancy challenge
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10808687 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jean-Loup Herbert (0009-0009-8397-7004, University of Sheffield, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 206 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Synthese (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-7857 • E-ISSN: 1573-0964 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11229-025-05186-1 |
| OpenAlex | W4413811780 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
It is widely accepted that the audience has some role to play in acquiring testimonial knowledge, but the extent of the epistemic work she must undertake is contentious. At the very least, an audience should not accept testimony that p when she has good reason to believe that ~ p . Some take a stronger stance, however, arguing that the audience must demonstrate a counterfactual sensitivity to signs of untrustworthiness. Framed otherwise, some argue that the audience must monitor speakers and their reports if they are to acquire testimonial knowledge. In this paper, I present a redundancy challenge to this stronger view. The conclusion I forward is that, if one is to support the view that the attainment of testimonial knowledge requires monitoring, one’s defence of this position must appeal to something beyond reliability. As I will argue, if reliability is what matters, then monitoring becomes redundant. For the reliabilist monitoring theorist, this presents a dichotomy: they can prioritise monitoring views over reliabilism, looking beyond reliability to defend monitoring as necessary for testimonial knowledge; or they can prioritise reliabilism over monitoring views, conceding that monitoring is not needed to establish reliable testimonial belief formation. Either way requires a major revision to one’s epistemology of testimony
Business · Epistemology · Metaphysics · Operating system · Philosophy of language · Philosophy of science · Programming language · Redundancy (engineering) · Testimonial · Computer Science · Deception detection and forensic psychology · Philosophy · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Topic Modeling
The Inquiring Mind
The Theory of Epistemic Rationality
Judgment and Agency
Virtues of the Mind
Knowledge in Perspective
Against Gullibility
Accuracy of Deception Judgments
Knowledge as Credit for True Belief
Evidentialism
Testimonial contractarianism
Relying on Others
Epistemic Vigilance
A Virtue Epistemology
Positive Epistemic Status and Proper Function
Accuracy in detecting truths and lies
In defence of gullibility
The coherence of virtue and the virtue of coherence
Should Reliabilists Be Worried About Demon Worlds
Social Norms and Economic Theory
| Highly cited | No |
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