Katherine Furman (University of Liverpool), 'Street Corner Social Epistemology'

We spend much of our lives in conversation with those in our immediate social circles – with friends, neighbours, and fellow pub-goers. This is not only recreational, but it is also one way that we deliberate and receive information that structures our decision-making. This is often pathologized in the social epistemology literature, which has tendency to focus in on increasing political polarisation and people unwittingly led into dangerous falsehood. This talk reassess ‘street corner social epistemology’ beyond the pathology, looking at the social and epistemic functions that this practice plays in our lives.