Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The paper argues for nuancing the understanding of epistemic goods and evaluations by analysing the role of mentors in epistemic communities, with a particular focus on Socrates. While traditional epistemic evaluations emphasise the production of knowledge, some epistemic agents contribute to the epistemic well-being of their communities in ways that do not directly yield these standard goods. For example, the primary role of Socrates was not as a knowledge producer, but as a mentor who guided and educated others. To capture the epistemic significance of such figures, I propose a distinction between product-like and agent-centred epistemic goods. I provide nuance to our understanding of epistemic value by linking it to the epistemic well-being of a community and different ways to improve it.
Source: Roczniki Filozoficzne
DOI: 10.18290/rf26741.7
Author: Dominik Jarczewski
Institution: Jagiellonian University
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Narodowym Centrum Nauki
OpenAlex ID: W7141069210