The epistemology of group agents
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] "The ultimate foci of this dissertation are group belief and justified group belief. As we will see, many models of both concepts have been proposed, and it is clear in many cases that these models are not intended to capture the same phenomena. Pluralism about group belief and justified group belief, understood generally, may thus be appropriate. My aim in this dissertation is to develop accounts of the beliefs and justified beliefs of group agents, rather than diffuse collections of individuals. Ultimately, we will find that no existing models of group belief or justified group belief correctly model the attitudes held by group agents. There is much work to be done before arguing for these points. Understanding what it is for a group agent to hold a belief requires a greater understanding of group agents and their relations to their members. In this chapter, I review a series of proposals for understanding this relation. I argue that existing accounts of the relationship between group agents and their members are either incorrect or incomplete. Insights from existing approaches point toward a fuller account of the relationship between group agents and their members."--Introduction
Degree
Ph. D.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access to files is limited to the University of Missouri--Columbia.