CFP: Synthese topical collection on Responsible Beliefs: Accountability Practices in Epistemology

Call for Papers — Responsible Beliefs: Accountability Practices in Epistemology

Guest Editors — Tim Smartt and Adam Piovarchy (The University of Notre Dame Australia)

Topical Collection Description: The ‘social turn’ in epistemology has seen a recent explosion of work from philosophers investigating epistemic analogues of what we might call our ‘accountability practices’: holding responsible, blaming, praising, excusing, exempting, forgiving, reconciling, and atoning, among other things, which have traditionally been thought of in primarily moral terms. This Synthese Topical Collection aims to publish new research at the intersection of ethics and epistemology that investigates the nature, foundations, and normative significance of such practices.

Appropriate topics for submission include, among others:

• When are people, group agents, or collectives responsible, blameworthy, praiseworthy, or excused for their epistemic conduct? What kinds of responses to epistemic conduct are warranted? How can this be done well or poorly?
• Is ‘epistemic accountability’ ultimately reducible to moral accountability?
• How are epistemic norms similar to, different from, or related to, moral norms? Does epistemic normativity have a social basis?
• Is the notion of ‘epistemic [x]’ confused? Should we be sceptical of such proposals?
• How should we theorise about epistemic agents, networks, groups, or epistemology more broadly when asking such questions?

Submissions to this Topical Collection will undergo the standard Synthese review process.

For further information, please contact the guest editors Tim Smartt ([email protected]) or Adam Piovarchy ([email protected])

The deadline for submissions is 1 December 2025.

Submissions via: https://www.editorialmanager.com/synt/default.aspx

Topical collection website: https://link.springer.com/collections/gggibfidhe