The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
@unc-aep.bsky.social
Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill promoting outstanding scholarship that applies the questions and tools of epistemology to issues of pressing public concern. More information at aep.unc.edu.
Uh, make that 2026. Apologies!
We're delighted to announce the fourth (and final!) Applied Epistemology Project workshop, on Applied Epistemology in Times of Political Crisis, here at UNC on March 6-7, 2025. (1/3)
September 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Uh, make that 2026. Apologies!
We're delighted to announce the fourth (and final!) Applied Epistemology Project workshop, on Applied Epistemology in Times of Political Crisis, here at UNC on March 6-7, 2025. (1/3)
September 22, 2025 at 3:24 PM
We're delighted to announce the fourth (and final!) Applied Epistemology Project workshop, on Applied Epistemology in Times of Political Crisis, here at UNC on March 6-7, 2025. (1/3)
AEP research getting out there! 👏👏👏
Honored to co-present with Aditi Ahuja (her first academic conference presentation and she did great!) at the Humility in Inquiry conference. We presented data on factors affecting people’s willingness to defer to experts.
September 20, 2025 at 6:59 PM
AEP research getting out there! 👏👏👏
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
I wrote about epistemic trespassing and why it is bad for my Substack. Tl;dr: it is tempting to talk about it as a moral failing but I think it is often more helpful to view trespassing behaviour as a rational response to bad incentives.
rbnmckenna86.substack.com/p/what-is-wr...
rbnmckenna86.substack.com/p/what-is-wr...
What Is Wrong with Epistemic Trespassing?
Epistemic Trespassing and the Division of Cognitive Labour
rbnmckenna86.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I wrote about epistemic trespassing and why it is bad for my Substack. Tl;dr: it is tempting to talk about it as a moral failing but I think it is often more helpful to view trespassing behaviour as a rational response to bad incentives.
rbnmckenna86.substack.com/p/what-is-wr...
rbnmckenna86.substack.com/p/what-is-wr...
New blog post! AEP postdoc Will Conner discusses recent news that Meta has been accused of cheating on AI benchmark tests, leading to a broader discussion of the value of such tests drawing on Thi Nguyen's work on gamification and value capture. Check it out!
aep.unc.edu/2025/07/09/g...
aep.unc.edu/2025/07/09/g...
Gamifying Intelligence: The Evidential Value of AI Benchmark Tests | The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
aep.unc.edu
July 9, 2025 at 1:27 PM
New blog post! AEP postdoc Will Conner discusses recent news that Meta has been accused of cheating on AI benchmark tests, leading to a broader discussion of the value of such tests drawing on Thi Nguyen's work on gamification and value capture. Check it out!
aep.unc.edu/2025/07/09/g...
aep.unc.edu/2025/07/09/g...
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
Good Plain English pod featuring @holdenthorp.bsky.social. I appreciated Holden’s candor regarding scientists’ attempts to influence politics and when such attempts might edge into epistemic trespassing, which is an idea addressed in our recent paper (1/2) open.spotify.com/episode/4Pee...
Megapod: The Crisis in American Science
Plain English with Derek Thompson · Episode
open.spotify.com
May 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Good Plain English pod featuring @holdenthorp.bsky.social. I appreciated Holden’s candor regarding scientists’ attempts to influence politics and when such attempts might edge into epistemic trespassing, which is an idea addressed in our recent paper (1/2) open.spotify.com/episode/4Pee...
Very excited to share our third "explainer video". (Refresher: these are ~5 min animations introducing applied epistemology concepts for a wide audience.) This one's on epist of free speech, featuring a script by Rob Simpson! Please share & consider using in teaching!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgb...
[AEP Explainers] The Epistemology of Free Speech (with Robert Simpson)
YouTube video by PPE at UNC
www.youtube.com
June 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Very excited to share our third "explainer video". (Refresher: these are ~5 min animations introducing applied epistemology concepts for a wide audience.) This one's on epist of free speech, featuring a script by Rob Simpson! Please share & consider using in teaching!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgb...
Many (applied) epistemologists think that when you know that there's expert consensus about something, you should defer to the expert consensus. And many of them also think that when you know the experts disagree, you should suspend judgment. (1/2)
Devin Lane, Should You Defer to Individual Experts? - PhilPapers
Should you defer to individual experts? That is, when a single expert – rather than a group of experts or even expert consensus – testifies that p, should you believe that ...
philpapers.org
April 29, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Many (applied) epistemologists think that when you know that there's expert consensus about something, you should defer to the expert consensus. And many of them also think that when you know the experts disagree, you should suspend judgment. (1/2)
Reminder: tomorrow is the deadline to apply for this! It's a chance to get expert instruction in public writing on applied epistemology, feedback from peers, and to enjoy an in-person workshop here at UNC
Interested in writing applied epistemology for a public-facing audience? Apply to be part of our new working group! It'll meet four times over the summer, followed by a capstone in-person event here at UNC in September facilitated by Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Details here:
philevents.org/event/show/1...
philevents.org/event/show/1...
April 14, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reminder: tomorrow is the deadline to apply for this! It's a chance to get expert instruction in public writing on applied epistemology, feedback from peers, and to enjoy an in-person workshop here at UNC
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
🥁🎉It's time again! My colleague Thomas Grundmann is organising the Cologne Summer School in Philosophy. This year's star is @aworsnip.bsky.social (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). 🎊📢
You can find more information on the following website: cssip.uni-koeln.de
Spread the word and repost!
You can find more information on the following website: cssip.uni-koeln.de
Spread the word and repost!
March 24, 2025 at 12:01 PM
🥁🎉It's time again! My colleague Thomas Grundmann is organising the Cologne Summer School in Philosophy. This year's star is @aworsnip.bsky.social (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). 🎊📢
You can find more information on the following website: cssip.uni-koeln.de
Spread the word and repost!
You can find more information on the following website: cssip.uni-koeln.de
Spread the word and repost!
Interested in writing applied epistemology for a public-facing audience? Apply to be part of our new working group! It'll meet four times over the summer, followed by a capstone in-person event here at UNC in September facilitated by Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Details here:
philevents.org/event/show/1...
philevents.org/event/show/1...
March 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Interested in writing applied epistemology for a public-facing audience? Apply to be part of our new working group! It'll meet four times over the summer, followed by a capstone in-person event here at UNC in September facilitated by Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Details here:
philevents.org/event/show/1...
philevents.org/event/show/1...
Very excited to share our second "explainer video". (Refresher: these are ~5 min animations introducing applied epistemology concepts for a wide audience.) This one's on polarization, featuring a script by Kevin Dorst! Please share, consider using in teaching, etc!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nd...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nd...
[AEP Explainers] Political Polarization (with Kevin Dorst)
YouTube video by PPE at UNC
www.youtube.com
March 19, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Very excited to share our second "explainer video". (Refresher: these are ~5 min animations introducing applied epistemology concepts for a wide audience.) This one's on polarization, featuring a script by Kevin Dorst! Please share, consider using in teaching, etc!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nd...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nd...
Fascinating new post on our blog by Emily McWilliams, discussing the denial and undertreatment of women's pain in medical procedures through the lens of applied epistemological work on testimonial injustice, manufactured ignorance, and motivated reasoning:
aep.unc.edu/2025/03/17/t...
aep.unc.edu/2025/03/17/t...
The Retrievals and the Routine: Systematic Erasure of Women’s Pain | The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
aep.unc.edu
March 17, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Fascinating new post on our blog by Emily McWilliams, discussing the denial and undertreatment of women's pain in medical procedures through the lens of applied epistemological work on testimonial injustice, manufactured ignorance, and motivated reasoning:
aep.unc.edu/2025/03/17/t...
aep.unc.edu/2025/03/17/t...
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
New Paper in Philosophical Psychology:
Trust in experts is low. Why? How bad is it? And what should we do? To answer these questions, we reviewed philosophy (when *ought* we defer to the experts) and psychology (when *do* people defer to the experts).
Link in comments!
Trust in experts is low. Why? How bad is it? And what should we do? To answer these questions, we reviewed philosophy (when *ought* we defer to the experts) and psychology (when *do* people defer to the experts).
Link in comments!
March 12, 2025 at 2:47 PM
New Paper in Philosophical Psychology:
Trust in experts is low. Why? How bad is it? And what should we do? To answer these questions, we reviewed philosophy (when *ought* we defer to the experts) and psychology (when *do* people defer to the experts).
Link in comments!
Trust in experts is low. Why? How bad is it? And what should we do? To answer these questions, we reviewed philosophy (when *ought* we defer to the experts) and psychology (when *do* people defer to the experts).
Link in comments!
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
i'm taking part in this philosophy panel on the future of social media next month, with @geneickers.bsky.social, @joe-saunders.bsky.social, and organiser @annabortolan.bsky.social.
it's online and open to the public, so sign up if you want to hear some hot takes!
it's online and open to the public, so sign up if you want to hear some hot takes!
Philosophy and Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Future
Philosophy and Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Future
Social media play a significant role in the life of many people. For example, through these platforms we can not only connect a...
philevents.org
March 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
i'm taking part in this philosophy panel on the future of social media next month, with @geneickers.bsky.social, @joe-saunders.bsky.social, and organiser @annabortolan.bsky.social.
it's online and open to the public, so sign up if you want to hear some hot takes!
it's online and open to the public, so sign up if you want to hear some hot takes!
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
I wrote a blog post about Samuel Alito as a case study in the ethics of suspicion and psychologizing
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/openfordebat...
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/openfordebat...
Samuel Alito and the Ethics of Suspicion
Exploring the changing nature of public debate
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
March 3, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I wrote a blog post about Samuel Alito as a case study in the ethics of suspicion and psychologizing
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/openfordebat...
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/openfordebat...
Check out this interdisciplinary review paper on deference to experts by a team of AEP Fellows (current and past)!
Mistrust in experts is high. So, under what conditions should people defer to experts and when do they actually do so? We synthesized the philosophy and psychology literatures on deference to experts in this preprint, soon to be published in Philosophical Psychology. (1/2) https://buff.ly/3ERGzqq
February 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Check out this interdisciplinary review paper on deference to experts by a team of AEP Fellows (current and past)!
Consider applying to be part of this summer school (aimed at researchers of all career stages) on applied epistemology featuring AEP Director @aworsnip.bsky.social!
I'm honored to be the guest lecturer at this year's Cologne Summer School in Philosophy, where I'll be delivering five lectures (plus a public lecture) on my current work in applied epistemology. (1/2)
cssip.uni-koeln.de
cssip.uni-koeln.de
Cologne Summer School in Philosophy
cssip.uni-koeln.de
February 21, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Consider applying to be part of this summer school (aimed at researchers of all career stages) on applied epistemology featuring AEP Director @aworsnip.bsky.social!
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
New from me @theconversation.com
We're witnessing a celebration of "common sense" among the new admin & their allies.
But remember: celebrating common sense and denigrating expertise/evidence IS ideological.
And is NOT a reliable path to truth.
theconversation.com/how-populist...
We're witnessing a celebration of "common sense" among the new admin & their allies.
But remember: celebrating common sense and denigrating expertise/evidence IS ideological.
And is NOT a reliable path to truth.
theconversation.com/how-populist...
How populist leaders like Trump use ‘common sense’ as an ideological weapon to undermine facts
When common sense is promoted as a virtue, it’s not just to celebrate how regular people understand the world. It promotes a worldview that rejects empirical facts and paves the way for propaganda.
theconversation.com
February 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
New from me @theconversation.com
We're witnessing a celebration of "common sense" among the new admin & their allies.
But remember: celebrating common sense and denigrating expertise/evidence IS ideological.
And is NOT a reliable path to truth.
theconversation.com/how-populist...
We're witnessing a celebration of "common sense" among the new admin & their allies.
But remember: celebrating common sense and denigrating expertise/evidence IS ideological.
And is NOT a reliable path to truth.
theconversation.com/how-populist...
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
I’ve been studying this problem since 2015. Obviously the nature of this changed with the birth of X. It’s gone from over-indexed on the political nerds & activists to over-indexed on Nazis & fascists. It’s no good.
a very real problem is how many politicians and household name MSM journos still get their news—and gauge public reaction—from Twitter.
February 5, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I’ve been studying this problem since 2015. Obviously the nature of this changed with the birth of X. It’s gone from over-indexed on the political nerds & activists to over-indexed on Nazis & fascists. It’s no good.
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
I started a Political Epistemology substack, and I decided to begin with an uncontroversial topic.
I currently have 3 followers, but I welcome more!
I currently have 3 followers, but I welcome more!
Social Identity and Epistemic Privilege
Is there an epistemic advantage to being oppressed?
open.substack.com
January 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I started a Political Epistemology substack, and I decided to begin with an uncontroversial topic.
I currently have 3 followers, but I welcome more!
I currently have 3 followers, but I welcome more!
On Saturday, K-12 educators from across the Triangle joined us on UNC's campus for "The Art of Inquiry: Promoting Responsible Belief in the Classroom." With guidance from @jeffgreene.bsky.social (UNC) and Paula McAvoy (NCState), participants learned strategies for fostering critical thinking...(1/2)
January 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
On Saturday, K-12 educators from across the Triangle joined us on UNC's campus for "The Art of Inquiry: Promoting Responsible Belief in the Classroom." With guidance from @jeffgreene.bsky.social (UNC) and Paula McAvoy (NCState), participants learned strategies for fostering critical thinking...(1/2)
New blog post! AEP Postdoctoral Fellow Will Conner evaluates Meta's change in fact-checking policy in light of recent applied epistemology scholarship by @danwphilosophy.bsky.social and others, and concludes that the sky is probably not falling. Check it out:
aep.unc.edu/2025/01/20/i...
aep.unc.edu/2025/01/20/i...
Is the Sky Falling? Evaluating Meta’s Move on Fact-Checking | The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
aep.unc.edu
January 20, 2025 at 3:00 PM
New blog post! AEP Postdoctoral Fellow Will Conner evaluates Meta's change in fact-checking policy in light of recent applied epistemology scholarship by @danwphilosophy.bsky.social and others, and concludes that the sky is probably not falling. Check it out:
aep.unc.edu/2025/01/20/i...
aep.unc.edu/2025/01/20/i...
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
Here's the background and syllabus (including 'core readings') for a seven-week philosophy module I'm teaching on 'Politics, truth, and ideology'. Feedback welcome: www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/politics-t...
Politics, truth, and ideology: A syllabus
Democracy, technocracy, Marx, ideology, critical theory, identity politics, standpoint theory, free speech, cancel culture, truth, populism, and post-truth
www.conspicuouscognition.com
January 19, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Here's the background and syllabus (including 'core readings') for a seven-week philosophy module I'm teaching on 'Politics, truth, and ideology'. Feedback welcome: www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/politics-t...
Reposted by The Applied Epistemology Project @ UNC
So fun talking to teachers about "Educating for Responsible Belief" at the “The Art of Inquiry: Promoting Responsible Belief in the Classroom” event hosted by the Applied Epistemology Project at UNC-CH (@unc-aep.bsky.social). Slides available if you're curious: https://buff.ly/4jeXJhr
January 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM
So fun talking to teachers about "Educating for Responsible Belief" at the “The Art of Inquiry: Promoting Responsible Belief in the Classroom” event hosted by the Applied Epistemology Project at UNC-CH (@unc-aep.bsky.social). Slides available if you're curious: https://buff.ly/4jeXJhr