Collectives and Epistemic Rationality. 2022

Ulrike Hahn
Department of Psychological Sciences, University of London.

Consideration of collectives raises important questions about human rationality. This has long been known for questions about preferences, but it holds also with respect to beliefs. For one, there are contexts (such as voting) where we might care as much, or more, about the rationality of a collective than the rationality of the individuals it comprises. Here, a given standard may yield competing assessments at the individual and the collective level, thus giving rise to important normative questions. At the same time, seemingly rational strategies of individuals may have surprising consequences, or even fail, when exercised by individuals within collectives. This paper will illustrate these considerations with examples, provide an overview of different formal frameworks for understanding and assessing the beliefs of collectives, and it will illustrate how such frameworks can combine with simulations in order to elucidate epistemic norms.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Ulrike Hahn
January 2021, Synthese,
Ulrike Hahn
January 2021, Acta analytica : philosophy and psychology,
Ulrike Hahn
June 2023, Philosophical studies,
Ulrike Hahn
January 2022, Synthese,
Ulrike Hahn
August 2008, The Journal of medicine and philosophy,
Ulrike Hahn
January 1950, Zdravstveni vestnik,
Ulrike Hahn
January 2002, Annual review of psychology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!