The Epistemology of Conversation: First Essays

This edited volume presents an innovative perspective on conversation and is the first book to deal with the epistemic aspects of conversation or dialogue. Conversation has been a recurring subject in various fields of philosophy, such as moral philosophy, pragmatics, and the philosophy of language. This text assumes conversation as a joint agency and explores when participants assume common purposes, commit to contributing relevant statements, and face the challenges of confronting interlocutors. It investigates whether the norm of conversation can be reduced to the interaction between speaker and audience, where the speaker must speak the truth and the audience must understand this intention. This volume explores the epistemology of testimony and addresses the motivations for starting a conversation, which can include legitimate disagreements, as well as curiosities about the interlocutor's beliefs and shared doubts. This text contributes to understanding epistemic dynamics in contemporary liberal democracies, such as polarization, disintegration of epistemic communities, silencing, and epistemic injustices. It appeals to students and researchers.