Socially Extended Epistemology

Socially Extended Epistemology explores the epistemological ramifications of one of the most important research programmes in contemporary cognitive science: distributed cognition. In certain conditions, according to this programme, groups of people can generate distributed cognitive systems that consist of all participating members. This volume brings together a range of distinguished and early career academics, from a variety of different perspectives, to investigate the very idea of socially extended epistemology. They ask, for example: can distributed cognitive systems generate knowledge in a similar way to individuals? And if so, how, if at all, does this kind of knowledge differ from normal, individual knowledge? The first part of the volume examines foundational issues, including from a critical perspective. The second part of the volume turns to applications of this idea, and the new theoretical directions that it might take us. These include the ethical ramifications of socially extended epistemology, its societal impact, and its import for emerging digital technologies.

J. Adam Carter is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He works mainly in epistemology. His book Metaepistemology and Relativism was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2016

Andy Clark is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh. He works in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, artificial intelligence and related areas. His most recent book, Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action and the Embodied Mind, was published by Oxford UP in 2016.

Jesper Kallestrup is Professor in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh working mainly in epistemology, the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. His book Semantic Externalism was published by Routledge in 2011.

S. Orestis Palermos is a Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh's Eidyn Research Centre. He works primarily in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science and epistemology, including the philosophical foundations of extended and socially extended knowledge.

Duncan Pritchard is Professor and Chair of Epistemology at the University of Edinburgh, where he directs the Eidyn Research Centre. He is also Chancellor's Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. His most recent book, Epistemic Angst, was published by Princeton UP in 2015.