The ERC-funded project ‘Social Epistemology of Argumentation’ (SEA) has been running since 2018 at VU Amsterdam, and is now coming to its end. At its closing conference, we will reflect on our results and findings, and continue to explore how to achieve fruitful argumentation and deliberation in contemporary social, scientific and political settings.

Our contemporary social world includes many situations of conflict and disagreement over proper and adequate processes of knowledge production and dissemination, and questions arise as to how we can be responsible epistemic agents when engaging in argumentation. Is argumentation truth-conducive? Is it possible to improve one’s epistemic stance through argumentation, and if so, how? What are the norms governing argumentation in different settings, such as science and politics? Which safeguards can be implemented in argumentative and deliberative settings that may decrease epistemic injustice? How should we address the presence of polarization, misinformation, fake news or conspiracy theories in the public sphere, in media and in democracy? How can diverse types of knowledge be included into mainstream knowledge-producing settings such as politics, academia, and social media? And how can marginalized voices be heard and supported in (oppressive) epistemic situations?

Schedule and registration for online participation available at:

https://sites.google.com/view/seaconference/home?authuser=0

Keynote speakers

Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff University)

David Ludwig (Wagenigen University)

Confirmed speakers from the SEA network

Catarina Dutilh Novaes

Natalie Ashton

Solmu Anttila

Merel Talbi

Hugo Mota

Julia Duetz

Hein Duijf

Silvia Ivani

Colin Rittberg

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to

*Different conceptions and practices of argumentation

*Deliberative democracy

*Formal social epistemology and epistemic networks

*Epistemic injustice, epistemic violence and epistemic oppression in connection with argumentation

*Emotions in argumentation

*Social epistemology of online environments

*Epistemic diversity, (including connections with moral, political and social diversity)

*Social exchange theory and processes of social knowledge production and sharing

*Social epistemology of science and academia

*Social epistemology of argumentation as viewed from the perspective of feminist, decolonial, queer philosophy and disabilities studies

*The role of trust in argumentation

We encourage applications from relevant subfields in philosophy that include (but are not limited to) argumentation theory, epistemology, political theory and philosophy, critical theory, philosophy of language, phenomenology, feminist philosophy and disability studies. We also welcome applications from the humanities and social sciences, e.g., sociology and social theory, science and technology studies, critical race studies, gender studies, discourse studies, history, decolonial and postcolonial studies, legal studies, political economy, social psychology, media and communication science, and political science.

A special issue of Topoi will be edited on the topics of the conference, including papers presented at the conference.