Greek words are a nerd’s downfall. I’m a nerd, therefore felled by epistemic hubris. Whenever I encounter “epistemic,” as in Maggie Jackson’s essay, I have to mentally re-solder its connection to epistemology, which I barely retain has to do with what we can know.
Jackson’s paraphrase for epistemic hubris is “unwarranted certainty about complex policy issues.” She cites gun control as one such issue. That issue is common as dirt, which triggers three questions:
(1) Doesn’t every issue involve “policy” of some kind, private or public? (A policy of mine is to stifle a belch after sipping a fizzy beverage.)
(2) What’s an even thornier complex issue than gun control?
(3) What’s one non-complex issue about which certainty is warranted?
As I drove her home to Pecos from Odessa in the late ‘90s, my elderly aunt said to me, “I believe with all my heart that when the end times come every person who ever lived will be resurrected to judgment.” She was devout Church of Christ. I’m lapsed Disciple of Christ. Christ figured divergently in our lives, hers and mine.
Earlier that day my aunt and I had stood holding hands and weeping while her brother, my uncle, breathed his last in the hospital. Her affirmation came from out of the blue as the sere West Texas plains slipped past our silent selves on the empty highway. I nodded with a dutiful nephew’s noncommittal respectfulness.
The answers are: (1) Yes. (2) Life after death. (3) There is none.
(c) 2024 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
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Some good chewing to be had here, JMN (afraid I don’t know or have forgotten your name).
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Mitch, thank you for visiting. Your attention is gratifying. I peek from behind my initials! — Regards, Jim
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Aha! Thanks, Jim.
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A very useful term to have in one’s mind when confronted with people who are in the thrall of conspiracy theories. I have just read Naomi Klein’s recent book Doppleganger – an interesting analysis of this phenomenon and ‘epistemic hubris’. Thanks for another stimulating post Jim!
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Sue, I hate to let this much time lapse before acknowledging an excellent comment. I have read and heard (on podcasts) enough about Naomi Klein’s book to feel almost as if I’ve read it, but of course that’s far from doing it justice as you have. I squirm at how much good reading I miss by being dug into my rather narrow research topics (Arabic, poetry…) plus trying to paint. The good news is I meet enlightened readers and artists such as you here in the blog world. Thank you a warm regards. — Jim
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No need to worry about all the books you haven’t read – I have a library full of them!
All the best Sue
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Haha! 🙂
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