Trust without Shared Belief: Pluralist Realism and Polar Bear Conservation

摘要

Trust-building has implicitly been characterized in epistemology as necessitatingrnthe adoption of shared belief. If this is so, such models of trust-buildingrnappear at odds with a metaphysical commitment to pluralist realism. In thisrnarticle I offer the first steps in modeling how a pluralist realist might understandrntrust building. I argue that entertaining pluralist realism as a possibilityrnmay actually be more fruitful for trust building than a monistrnconception because each side is given an important concession: the possibilityrnthat their knowledge claims might be correct. The case of polar bear conservationrnin the Canadian arctic illustrates that trust-building without sharedrnbelief is possible. I wish the members of these round-table discussions successrnin the future.