Epistemic Vigilance and Epistemic Responsibility in the Liquid World of Scientific Publications

In this paper I try to challenge some received views about the role and the function of the traditional academic practice of publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals. I argue that our publishing practices today are rather based on passively accepted social norms and humdrum work habits than on ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social epistemology 2010-07, Vol.24 (3), p.149-159
Main Author: Origgi, Gloria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Epistemic Responsibility
Epistemic Vigilance
Knowledge
Peer Review
Scientific Publications
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Summary:In this paper I try to challenge some received views about the role and the function of the traditional academic practice of publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals. I argue that our publishing practices today are rather based on passively accepted social norms and humdrum work habits than on actual needs for communicating the advancements of our research. By analysing some examples of devices and practices that are based on tacitly accepted norms, such as the Citation Index and the new role of DOI attributions in digital publishing, I advocate an epistemically vigilant stance not only towards our ways of acquiring knowledge, but also towards the implicit norms we accept when we produce research.
ISSN:0269-1728
1464-5297
DOI:10.1080/02691728.2010.499179