Epistemic Agent
What is epistemic agent? How should it be defined?
The notion of epistemic agent plays a central role in scientonomy. In the scientonomic context it was first used in Barseghyan's Redrafting the Ontology of Scientific Change where the term was not defined.1 2 Since the term stands in an important relationship with the notions of epistemic element and epistemic stance, it is important to provide the term with a proper scientonomic definition.
In the scientonomic context, this term was first used by Hakob Barseghyan in 2018. The term is currently accepted by Scientonomy community.
In Scientonomy, the accepted definition of the term is:
- An agent capable of taking epistemic stances towards epistemic elements.
Contents
Scientonomic History
Acceptance Record of the Question
Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | 8 October 2018 | The publication of Barseghyan (2018) is an indication of the acceptance of the term. | Yes |
All Direct Answers
Theory | Formulation | Formulated In |
---|---|---|
Epistemic Agent (Patton-2019) | An agent capable of taking epistemic stances towards epistemic elements. | 2019 |
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Accepted Direct Answers
Community | Theory | Formulation | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
---|---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | Epistemic Agent (Patton-2019) | An agent capable of taking epistemic stances towards epistemic elements. | 11 October 2020 |
Suggested Modifications
Modification | Community | Date Suggested | Summary | Date Assessed | Verdict | Verdict Rationale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sciento-2019-0014 | Scientonomy | 26 December 2019 | Accept the new definition of epistemic agent as an agent capable of taking epistemic stances towards epistemic elements. | 11 October 2020 | Accepted | The modification was characterized as "a very welcome addition to the scientonomic ontology" for despite all the talks of epistemic agents "the very notion of epistemic agency has remained unclear" for years,c1 for its "strict explication has been lacking".c2 It was agreed that the definition is an important starting point for our discussions concerning individual and communal agents.c3 c4 It was also noted that the definition is important for addressing the "the question of agency of epistemic tools"c5 and the question of "the applicability of scientonomic laws to individual agents".c6 |
Current View
In Scientonomy, the accepted definition of the term is Epistemic Agent (Patton-2019).
Epistemic Agent (Patton-2019) states: "An agent capable of taking epistemic stances towards epistemic elements."
An epistemic agent acts in relation to epistemic elements such as theories, questions, and methods. The actions of an epistemic agent amount to taking epistemic stances towards these elements, such as accepting or pursuing a theory, accepting a question, or employing a method. The stances of an epistemic agent must be intentional. To be so, they must satisfy the following conditions:
- the agent must have a semantic understanding of the propositions that constitute the epistemic element in question and of its available alternatives; and
- the agent must be able to choose from among the available alternatives with reason, and for the purpose of acquiring knowledge.1
Related Topics
References
- a b Patton, Paul. (2019) Epistemic Tools and Epistemic Agents in Scientonomy. Scientonomy 3, 63-89. Retrieved from https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/33621.
- ^ Barseghyan, Hakob. (2018) Redrafting the Ontology of Scientific Change. Scientonomy 2, 13-38. Retrieved from https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/31032.