#1193 Jennifer Nagel: Epistemic Intuitions, Knowledge, and Common Knowledge

Dec 25, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Jennifer Nagel, a philosopher from the University of Toronto, delves into the intricacies of epistemic intuitions and knowledge. She defines epistemic intuitions and explains their role in philosophical discourse, referencing both Western and South Asian traditions. Nagel contrasts philosophical and psychological perspectives on knowledge, discussing how common knowledge is formed in conversations. She also highlights the significance of reflection in understanding knowledge and encourages integrating empirical science with philosophy to enhance our grasp of these concepts.

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INSIGHT

Knowledge Is The Core Factive Mental State

Linguistics shows 'know' is the prototypical factive verb entailed by other factive constructions.
Nagel sees this linguistic pattern as key to understanding knowledge's nature.

INSIGHT

Knowledge-First Characterization

Nagel endorses a knowledge-first approach: knowledge is the most general factive mental state.
She compares knowledge to gold as an objective condition you can be mistaken about having.

ADVICE

Correct Intuitions With Established Knowledge

When intuitions clash with established knowledge, accept that the intuitions are wrong.
Replace faulty intuitions by learning better rules or strategies where possible.

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Dr. Jennifer Nagel is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on knowledge, belief, and our capacities to track these states in ourselves and others. Dr. Nagel is interested in the history of epistemology, both in the Western tradition back to Plato, and in the Classical Indian and Tibetan traditions. She also works in contemporary philosophy of mind, with special interests in metacognition and mental state attribution.

In this episode, we first talk about epistemic intuitions: what they are; how philosophers approach them; and how linguistics and psychology approach epistemic intuitions: We discuss knowledge, what makes knowledge reliable, whether it is a mental state, the difference between knowing something and just happening to be right about it, the epistemic value of reflection, and common knowledge. Finally, we talk about the relationship between experimental philosophy and traditional philosophy.

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