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Epistemic Responsibility and Critical Thinking
Author(s) -
Vaidya Anand Jayprakash
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
metaphilosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1467-9973
pISSN - 0026-1068
DOI - 10.1111/meta.12047
Subject(s) - critical thinking , epistemology , argument (complex analysis) , value (mathematics) , sociology , parallel thinking , critical theory , critical systems thinking , identity (music) , philosophy , computer science , machine learning , aesthetics , chemistry , biochemistry
Should we always engage in critical thinking about issues of public policy, such as health care, gun control, and LGBT rights? M ichael H uemer (2005) has argued for the claim that in some cases it is not epistemically responsible to engage in critical thinking on these issues. His argument is based on a reliabilist conception of the value of critical thinking. This article analyzes H uemer's argument against the epistemic responsibility of critical thinking by engaging it critically. It presents an alternative account of the value of critical thinking that is tied to the notion of forming and deploying a critical identity . And it develops an account of our epistemic responsibility to engage in critical thinking that is not dependent on reliability considerations alone. The primary purpose of the article is to provide critical thinking students, or those that wish to reflect on the value of critical thinking, with an opportunity to think metacritically about critical thinking by examining an argument that engages the question of whether it is epistemically responsible for one to engage in critical thinking.