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Preemption and the Problem of the Predatory Expert
- Philosophical Topics
- University of Arkansas Press
- Volume 49, Number 2, Fall 2022
- pp. 133-150
- Article
- Additional Information
ABSTRACT:
What kind of reasons for belief are provided by the testimony of experts? In a world where we are often inundated with fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, this question is more pressing than ever. A prominent view in the philosophical literature maintains that the reasons provided by experts are preemptive in that they normatively screen off, or defeat, other relevant reasons. In this paper, I raise problems for this conception of expertise, including a wholly new one that I call the Problem of the Predatory Expert, which targets both original versions of preemption as well as new, modified ones that aim to avoid some of the standard objections.