Traditionally, epistemologists have sought to investigate the possibility, range and general basis of individual knowledge. Inquiry, on this view, is an activity of lonely cognizers, each pursuing knowledge about their world in isolation. This vision, however, overlooks the significant role that social interactions play in the determination and justification of the individual's beliefs. Social epistemology is a productive new field which seeks to remedy this oversight. Research into the social dimensions of knowledge has produced valuable insight into the relation between social considerations and such traditional epistemic issues as the attainment of truth, knowledge, and justification. However, many of social epistemology's accomplishments have been undermined by a common, but erroneous, assumption that social epistemology must devolve into anti realism, specifically in the form of social relativism. On my view, social and individualistic epistemologies share a deficiency which renders them susceptible to anti-realist interpretations: neither offers an acceptable defense for the supposition that human knowledge claims reliably represent a mind independent reality. This defense, I maintain, is best carried out by appeal to evolutionary epistemology. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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