Speaker: Cat Saint-Croix (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
Date and Time: Thursday, March 7th 2024, 16:30-18:00
Venue: Only online.
Title: Standpoint Epistemology for Bayesians
Abstract. It is often supposed that feminist and formal epistemologies stand in opposition to one another. But, this is not so, at least when it comes to Standpoint Epistemology and Bayesian Epistemology. In fact, these two are particularly compatible. I begin by showing that Bayesian Epistemology is not among the usual “targets” of Standpoint Epistemology. Toole (2022) “Demarginalizing Standpoint Epistemology” characterizes these targets as aperspectival and atomistic, neither of which is true of Bayesian approaches. Furthermore, when we consider the convergence theorems—a traditional argument in favor of Bayesian Epistemology—the need for Standpoint Epistemology becomes clear: Bayesians cannot begin to satisfy the conditions necessary for convergence without taking the observations and recommendations of Standpoint Epistemology into account.