Ethics Lab Alumna’s “Foundational Text” on Political Epistemology Now Available

Political Epistemology (Oxford University Press, 2021), co-edited by Ethics Lab alumna Dr. Elizabeth Edenberg, brings together political philosophers and epistemologists in a volume addressing truth and knowledge in politics; epistemic problems for democracy; and disagreement and polarization. 

Edenberg was formerly Senior Ethicist and Assistant Research Professor at Ethics Lab, and is now Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Baruch College (CUNY). While at Georgetown, she played a key role in developing Ethics Lab’s “Data Ethics” and “Social Media and Democracy” courses. That work served as early inspiration for the book, according to Edenberg. “In those classes, the students and I got particularly interested in how our social epistemic practices impact our political lives.”

In the fall of 2018, Edenberg invited volume contributors to campus to discuss early versions of their papers with one another. “Since this essentially was an opportunity for half of the syllabus to show up in person to Ethics Lab, we [also] created an interactive workshop in which the students formed groups with the visiting philosophers to puzzle through the epistemic and political issues of foreign governments manipulating U.S. public opinion via social media.”

The groups mapped out relationships of power and vulnerability among key stakeholders, with an eye toward surfacing surprising value alignments which might inspire new ways of responding to the challenge. Using a collection of images the students generated prior to the workshop, the groups also engaged in a card sorting exercise to discuss their interpretations of philosophical concepts from the class—including freedom, equality, pluralism, polarization, truth, trust, and respect. 

In Political Epistemology, Edenberg provides readers the opportunity to engage with philosophers in increasingly important and relevant questions about truth, knowledge, and understanding in politics.

Click here to learn more about the book and order a copy.