The Challenge Between Epistemic Autonomy and Epistemic Authority in Modern Epistemology

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Reza Naghavi 1
Mohammad Reza Asadi 2
1 Ph.D. Student of Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.
10.30497/prr.2022.241520.1697
Abstract
According to the prevalent account of modernity, its essence is autonomy and the rejection of all authorities, including religious authorities. This account also argues that testimony as a source of knowledge and justification differs fundamentally from authority. In other words, it argues that accepting testimony as a source of knowledge and justification does not imply accepting others' authority and does not contradict modern rationality and epistemic autonomy. This view has significant implications for religious epistemology. This article shows that the above concept of modernity is incorrect by using the statements of modern classical philosophers. Then it criticizes the distinction between testimony and authority. Any belief based on testimony is intrinsically dependent on the source's authority; thus, one cannot separate them. The article then presents two other significant criticisms of the idea of autonomy suggested by contemporary epistemologists. The conclusion is that the idea of autonomy is not justifiable and that accepting another authority under certain conditions is not in conflict with rationality, but rationality demands it.
Keywords
Epistemic Authority
Epistemic Autonomy
Testimony
Modernity
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Philosophy of Religion Research
Volume 19, Issue 2 - Serial Number 38
November 2022
Pages 135-165