Collaborative Scientific Knowledge and Testimonial Justification

Abstract

Is it possible to gain justified scientific knowledge from the testimony of a collective of scientists? In this thesis, I discuss whether or not it is possible to use current theories of testimonial justification for collective scientific knowledge. Our current theories on testimony and testimonial justification give us the conditions for when it is justified to acquire knowledge from someone or something else. However, these theories on testimonial justification focus on instances of testimony between individuals. That is, current theories on testimony explain when there is testimonial justification for knowledge that passes from one individual testifier to an individual recipient. In collective scientific knowledge, I describe two kinds of testimony. There is not only testimony by the collective but testimony within the collective. My discussion comes to the conclusion that while current theories on testimonial justification could be used to describe the kinds of testimony in collective scientific knowledge, there is still more work to do. Current theories of testimonial justification do not account for the interaction between the kinds of testimony.