What is Tribal Epistemology?
Information is evaluated based not on conformity to common standards of evidence or correspondence to a common understanding of the world, but on whether it supports the tribe’s values and goals and is vouched safe by tribal leaders.
The one that started me on this thought trail. How does Tribal Epistemology explain some of the reasoning behind fake news, and as a result, all the weirdness/awfulness in politics right now?
Well, if the information is not considered factually true based on evidence but rather whether it conforms to the ideals of the tribe, then you arrive at the siloed state we’re in now, whereby any news or evidence that goes against your tribe’s beliefs is shunned as “fake news”, considered biased, or ignored entirely.
Only trusted sources count and so what effectively happens is that we double down on our beliefs — we believe something is true because our news source of choice tells us that, but our news source tells us that because we think it’s true and explains the total shitshow we’re in today, don’t you think?
