#1100 Jonathan Ichikawa: Epistemic Courage

May 22, 2025

Jonathan Ichikawa, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, dives into the concept of epistemic courage. He tackles the ethics of belief, emphasizing the struggle between skepticism and acceptance, while critiquing negative biases that shape societal perceptions. Ichikawa also sheds light on the impact of ideology in shaping cultural narratives, particularly regarding stereotypes and gender roles. The discussion covers the intersection of faith and doubt, especially in high-stakes issues like misinformation and sexual assault, calling for a reassessment of belief justification.

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INSIGHT

What is Bad Belief?

Bad belief means violating epistemic norms, not morally wrong beliefs.
Epistemology should focus equally on avoiding bad beliefs and failing to believe true things.

INSIGHT

Negative Bias in Epistemology

Negative bias favors skepticism, making suspension of judgment seem safer than believing.
This bias is culturally pervasive and inaccurate, ignoring the cost of failing to believe.

INSIGHT

Negative Bias as Ideology

Negative epistemic bias is an ideology disguised as objectivity.
It perpetuates itself, creating social patterns reinforcing skeptical attitudes.

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Dr. Jonathan Ichikawa is a Professor of Philosophy and Department Head at the University of British Columbia. His main research areas are epistemology, philosophy of language, feminist philosophy, and ethics. He is particularly interested in connecting theoretical questions about the nature and significance of knowledge to moral, practical, andpolitical questions, e.g. questions about structural oppression, rape culture, and the like. He is the author of Epistemic Courage.

In this episode, we focus on Epistemic Courage. We first talk about the ethics of belief and virtue epistemology. We explore what bad belief is, the negative bias, justification of belief, pragmatic and moral encroachment, and epistemic faith. We then delve into epistemic courage, and the example of testimony and rape culture. We talk about epistemic contextualism. Finally, we discuss how to approach misinformation and conspiracy theories.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, EDWARD HALL, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, AMAURI MARTÍNEZ, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, IGOR N, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, GEORGE CHORIATIS, VALENTIN STEINMANN, PER KRAULIS, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, MASOUD ALIMOHAMMADI, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, STARRY, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航豊川, TONY BARRETT, BENJAMIN GELBART, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, AND TED FARRIS!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, AL NICK ORTIZ, NICK GOLDEN, AND CHRISTINE GLASS!

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