The Epistemology of Folk Epistemology

The question, What is Folk Epistemology (FE)?, is a question receiving increasing attention, but one that still awaits a sustained answer. In the present work by Mikkel Gerken,¹ we have a somewhat different question discussed: What should FE be?

His answer is that FE should be informed by empirical work (e.g. on subjects’ intuitions) but only when also informed by philosophical reflection. His resulting model of reflective equilibrium ‘helps to lay the foundation for an emerging sub-field that intersects philosophy and the cognitive sciences: the empirical study of folk epistemology’. One can therefore view this work as an exercise not in setting forth what...