Agency and Interaction What We Are and What We Do in Formal Epistemology

Abstract Formal epistemology is the study of crucial concepts in general or mainstream epistemology including knowledge, belief (-change), certainty, rationality, reasoning, decision, justification, learning, agent interaction and information processing using a spread of different formal tools. These formal tools may be drawn from fields such as logic, probability theory, game theory, decision theory, formal learning theory, and distributed computing -such variety is typical in formal epistemology, a field in which interaction with topics outside of philosophy proper is the rule rather than the exception. Practitioners of formal epistemology include philosophers, computer scientists, social scientists, cognitive psychologists, theoretical economists, mathematicians, and theoretical linguists. The interdisciplinary nature of formal epistemology can make it difficult for those new to the field to have a sense of some of its basic agendas, actors, and issues. What follows is a breezy overview of formal epistemology as organized around notions of agency and interaction

You Better Play 7: Mutual versus Common Knowledge of Advice in a Weak-link Experiment

This paper presents the results of an experiment on mutual versus common knowl- edge of advice in a two-player weak-link game with random matching. Our experimen- tal subjects play in pairs for thirteen rounds. After a brief learning phase common to all treatments, we vary the knowledge levels associated with external advice given in the form of a suggestion to pick the strategy supporting the payoff-dominant equilib- rium. In the mutual knowledge of level 1 treatment, the suggestion appears on every subject's monitor at the beginning of every round, with no common knowledge that everybody sees the same suggestion. In the mutual knowledge of level 2 treatment, the same suggestion appears on each subject's monitor, accompanied by the request to "send" the suggestion to the partner in the round, followed by a notification that the message has been read. Finally, in the common knowledge treatment, the suggestion is read aloud by the experimenter at the end of the learning phase. Our results are somewhat surprising and can be summarized as follows: in all our treatments both the choice of the efficiency-inducing action and the percentage of efficient equilibrium play are higher with respect to the control treatment, revealing that even a condition as weak as mutual knowledge of level 1 is sufficient to significantly increase the salience of the efficient equilibrium with respect to the absence of advice. Furthermore, and contrary to our hypothesis, mutual knowledge of level 2 (as the one occurring in our "message" treatment) induces successful coordination more frequently than common knowledge.Coordination games; experimental philosophy; epistemic attitudes, weak-link game; conventions

You Better Play 7: Mutual versus Common Knowledge of Advice in a Weak-link Experiment

This paper presents the results of an experiment on mutual versus common knowl- edge of advice in a two-player weak-link game with random matching. Our experimen- tal subjects play in pairs for thirteen rounds. After a brief learning phase common to all treatments, we vary the knowledge levels associated with external advice given in the form of a suggestion to pick the strategy supporting the payo-dominant equilib- rium. In the mutual knowledge of level 1 treatment, the suggestion appears on every subject's monitor at the beginning of every round, with no common knowledge that everybody sees the same suggestion. In the mutual knowledge of level 2 treatment, the same suggestion appears on each subject's monitor, accompanied by the request to "send" the suggestion to the partner in the round, followed by a notication that the message has been read. Finally, in the common knowledge treatment, the suggestion is read aloud by the experimenter at the end of the learning phase. Our results are somewhat surprising and can be summarized as follows: in all our treatments both the choice of the efficiency-inducing action and the percentage of e cient equilibrium play are higher with respect to the control treatment, revealing that even a condition as weak as mutual knowledge of level 1 is sufficient to signicantly increase the salience of the e cient equilibrium with respect to the absence of advice. Furthermore, and contrary to our hypothesis, mutual knowledge of level 2 (as the one occurring in our "message" treatment) induces successful coordination more frequently than common knowledge.Coordination games; experimental philosophy; epistemic attitudes, weak-link game; conventions

Hmong Narratives as Testimony

Refugees are often depicted in studies and popular media as helpless and in need of rescuing. In the song “Hmoob Zaj,” which was released on YouTube in 2019, Hmong rapper Shong Lee humanizes Hmong refugee experiences by sharing a story that has been “secreted” (M. Vang, 2021, p. 10) by the U.S. government. Through the public archiving of this story on YouTube, Lee presents what Espiritu (2014) calls an “oppositional narrative” (p. 163) that speaks back to the empire. He asserts a critical stance to challenge the dominant narrative, validate the experiential knowledge of Hmong people, contribute to Hmong collective remembering, and co-construct a Hmong diasporic collectivity that looks to the future without forgetting the past. Specifically, “Hmoob Zaj” is a testimony that reveals U.S. injustices in Southeast Asia and positions Hmong people as legitimate producers of knowledge not confined to the boundaries of Western ideals. This type of knowledge is essential to transforming the schooling process by (a) providing an inclusive, humanizing, and just understanding of Hmong history and (b) revealing the way dominant perspectives and ideals distort Hmong realities in order to uphold existing power relations

Popular Geopolitics, Empathy, and Cultural-Media Geographies in \u3ci\u3eDoctor Who\u3c/i\u3e Fandom

The popular British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) show Doctor Who has been airing since 1963, boasting more longevity than any other televised science fiction program. The main character of Doctor Who is simply known as the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who uses a TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension/s in Space) to travel anywhere in space and time, frequently with a human, female companion. Within the show, time is nonlinear and instead of dying, the Doctor regenerates into a new physical form, remaining a Time Lord but appearing phenotypically different from their previous form. For thousands of fans (known as Whovians within the fandom), the show has provided comedic entertainment, emotional support, and intellectual curiosity. Its plotlines are steeped within science fiction/space opera themes of time travel, alien invasion, good vs. bad, justice, love, and robotic innovation. Within these nodes of science fiction exist rich commentary on social themes including, but not limited to, racism, classism, colonialism, animal exploitation, teenage pregnancy, politics and hierarchy, mental illness, and anthropomorphic effects of natural disaster. From a cultural geography standpoint, the show possesses a multitude of points of analysis. This dissertation builds upon a growing scholarship within science fiction geographies, an intellectual branch of geography rooted in cultural and political landscapes, engaging with topics such as alternative histories, technological innovation on the landscape, and invader politics. Thus far, however, little published geographic research has explored the fan geographies of science fiction, which is expressed as the ability of science fiction fans to see the world through a lens of their fandom, dynamically altering their personal geographies. Regardless of the writers’ original intentions, many episodes follow a story arc that may influence viewers’ opinions towards certain social, cultural, and political landscapes, creating a fan geography where Whovians perceive their daily landscapes through a lens of their fandom. Can fan geographies of Doctor Who allow viewers to reimagine their daily geographies through the show’s influence? This dissertation engages with this question to understand how (if at all) Doctor Who fans experience their daily geographies through a lens of the show