How Do You Know? explores problems of knowledge that arise in everyday
life. If you are not an expert, how can you know that another person is
an expert? If experts are politically biased should you still trust
them? More generally, how should you approach the testimony of other
people: treat it all as "innocent until proven guilty," or is that too
simple? Does the internet make us better knowers, or is it just a
minefield of misinformation? Is it always irrational to believe a
conspiracy theory? Suppose someone just as intelligent and well-informed
as you are disagrees with you about something, how should that affect
your belief? Can we have knowledge of what is right and wrong?
How Do You Know? approaches these issues through the lens of social
epistemology and via the preeminently social genre of philosophical
dialogue. Its characters think and speak like real people in the world
today, discussing and debating issues that are current, practically
relevant, and even controversial--while equipping readers with tools and
concepts to see more clearly for themselves.