Javier González de Prado: What is epistemic normativity?

Tuesday November 10 2026 @11:30 (CET)
Sala A, Edificio de Humanidades, UNED & online

Abstract

Beliefs are subject to epistemic evaluations: we assess them as (ir)rational, (un)justified or (in)correct. What is, however, the normative force of these evaluations? Who is ‘epistemology’ to tell us what to think? Possible answers appeal to practical usefulness (epistemically correct belief tend to be helpful) or to the role of these evaluations in social practices (e.g. the contribution of these epistemic norms to social coordination and reliable information sharing). I argue that these proposals fail to account for the inescapability of epistemic norms: these norms are hard to break even when they do not serve either individual or collective purposes or interests. My own proposal focuses on the way in which thought is consciously regulated. I suggest that epistemic norms arise from these conscious regulatory processes, which explains why such norms maintain a grip on our thinking regardless of whether compliance with them promotes our interests.

Bio
Javier González de Prado is Associate Professor (Contratado Doctor) at UNED, where he is part of METIS. He is interested in different topics in normativity theory, epistemology and philosophy of language.