Norms of assertion in the United States, Germany, and Japan
- Authors
- Type
- Published Article
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publication Date
- Sep 10, 2021
- Volume
- 118
- Issue
- 37
- Identifiers
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105365118
- PMID: 34508000
- PMCID: PMC8449385
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Keywords
- Disciplines
- License
- Unknown
Abstract
The recent controversy about misinformation has moved a question into the focus of the public eye that has occupied philosophers for decades: Under what conditions is it appropriate to assert a certain claim? When asserting a claim that x , must one know that x ? Must x be true? Might it be normatively acceptable to assert whatever one believes? In the largest cross-cultural study to date (total n = 1,091) on the topic, findings from the United States, Germany, and Japan suggest that, in order to claim that x , x need not be known, and it can be false. However, the data show, we do expect considerable epistemic responsibility on the speaker’s behalf: In order to appropriately assert a claim, the speaker must have good reasons to believe it.
