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CHOOSING EXPERT STATISTICAL ADVICE: PRACTICAL COSTS AND EPISTEMIC JUSTIFICATION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2014

Javier González De Prado Salas  and
David Teira
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Abstract

We discuss the role of practical costs in the epistemic justification of a novice choosing expert advice, taking as a case study the choice of an expert statistician by a lay politician. First, we refine Goldman's criteria for the assessment of this choice, showing how the costs of not being impartial impinge on the epistemic justification of the different actors involved in the choice. Then, drawing on two case studies, we discuss in which institutional setting the costs of partiality can play an epistemic role. This way we intend to show how the sociological explanation of the choice of experts can incorporate its epistemic justification.

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Articles
Information
Episteme , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 117 - 129
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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