FOLK EPISTEMOLOGY: EXPLORING EVERYDAY CONCEPTIONS OF KNOWLEDGE

What is knowledge? Philosophers have long sought answers to this fundamental question within the confines of their studies. Yet contemporary epistemology faces a profound challenge: How universal and adequate are the intuitions underlying theories derived from "armchair" conceptual analysis? This challenge has emerged alongside intensive research into folk epistemology — the study of ordinary people's conceptions of knowledge, truth, justification, reliability, and other epistemic categories. Data from experimental philosophy (x-phi) reveal that what seems obvious and universal to the armchair philosopher may vary significantly across cultural, social, linguistic, or educational contexts. Does this call into question the possibility of a unified theory of knowledge? Are folk intuitions a reliable test for the adequacy of philosophical concepts their inevitable foundation (as x-phi advocates argue) — or merely "empirical noise" unrelated to epistemology’s inherently normative aims?

Conference Goals. This conference aims to create a platform for critical and constructive discussion on the role of folk epistemic conceptions and intuitions in modern philosophy. Participants are invited to address the following key questions:

(1) Conceptualizing Folk Epistemology:
What are its boundaries? How is it manifested in language (epistemic modalities, knowledge verbs), social and cognitive practices (distribution of epistemic authority, source credibility, non-expert assessments of justification reliability)? How can we account for pragmatic and moral "encroachments" in knowledge ascriptions?

(2) Relevance of Folk Conceptions for Philosophical Theory:
Should epistemological theories explicitly incorporate, refute, or methodologically disregard data on folk conceptions? What are their heuristic values and limitations?

(3) Critical Analysis of X-Phi Methodology in Epistemology:
How can empirical data enrich philosophical reflection? What are the limitations of experimental approaches in clarifying normative questions? How does variability in intuitions impact debates about epistemic universalism, contextualism, or relativism?

(4) Applied Potential of X-Phi Data:
How can research on folk epistemology (especially cross-cultural variations in epistemic conceptions) inform practical applications? How might this data improve AI systems (e.g., model training, dialogue agent design) and optimize human-AI interaction (e.g., fostering epistemic trust in intelligent assistants)?

Call for Interdisciplinary Dialogue. 
We aim to transcend disciplinary boundaries and welcome contributions from all scholars engaged in folk epistemology research. This segment will foster discussion on methodological challenges, brainstorming for refining x-phi tools, and exploring collaborative opportunities. In addition to papers on the above themes, we particularly encourage:

• Presentations of empirical/experimental studies on epistemic conceptions and intuitions by philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and linguists.
• Proposals for planned empirical research (experiments, surveys, linguistic analyses, etc.), including hypotheses, designs, and methodologies.

Submission Guidelines. To participate, please: 
Complete the registration form (google form): https://forms.gle/rCu72uaTJwc8GQZx6
Include your full name, contact email, presentation title, and abstract (100–250 words). 
If you have any difficulties filling out this form or have any questions about the conference, please contact [email protected] (Mikhail Khort).

Deadline: October 10, 2025.

The Organizing Committee:

(1)  Mirko Farina — Head of Human Machine Interaction Lab Institute for Digital Economy & Artificial Systems [IDEAS], Xiamen University and Lomonosov Moscow State University / Professor of the School of Philosophy and Social Development, Huaqiao University;
(2)  Artur Karimov — Professor of the Laboratory of Human-Computer Interaction, Innopolis University;
(3)  Anna Sakharova — Researcher at the Department of Social Epistemology, Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Science;
(4)  Mikhail Khort — Associate Professor of the Department of Social Philosophy, Kazan University;
(5)  Daniel Lavrishchev — Researcher at the Department of Science Studies, Institute for the History of Science and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences;
(6)  Vladislav Stasenko — Researcher at the Department of Science Studies, Institute for the History of Science and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences;
(7)  Natalia Khairullina — Postgraduate student of the Department of Social Philosophy, Kazan University.