Lumer, Christoph: Arguments from Expert Opinion – An Epistemological Approach. In: Catarina Dutilh Novaes [et al.] (Eds.): Reason to Dissent. Vol. 1. College Publications 2020: 403-422. (original) (raw)

The assessment of argumentation from expert opinion

Argumentation, 2011

In this contribution, a comprehensive tool for the reconstruction and evaluation of argumentation from expert opinion is developed by analyzing and then combining two dialectical accounts of this type of argumentation. Walton’s account of the ‘appeal to expert opinion’ provides a number of useful, but fairly unsystematic suggestions for critical questions pertaining to argumentation from expert opinion. The pragma-dialectical account of ‘argumentation from authority’ offers a clear and systematic, but fairly general framework for the reconstruction and evaluation of this type of argumentation. The tool is developed by incorporating Walton’s critical questions into a pragma-dialectical framework.

'Reason Trumps All: Rationality of Minority Views in Relevant Expert Consensus'

Expert consensus is crucial for those who are not relevant experts in the field in which they are studying. However, for those who are a relevant expert in the field of a philosophic subject, there is a debate that asks if a minority view can ever be considered rational. Bryan Frances argues that if one is a relevant expert in a field, and is in the minority, their views must be irrational. In this essay I will be arguing that Frances' argument fails in terms of the 'explanation' way, leading to leery acceptance of the 'no-process' way. I argue that relevant expert consensus does not matter; it is evaluating the argument that one makes. First, I discuss the debate on whether a relevant expert can disregard consensus and what a relevant expert is. Secondly, I deconstruct Frances' view charitably. Third, I analyze the issues with Frances' argument. Lastly, I offer an alternative to evaluating a minority view amongst relevant experts.

Accounting for the appeal to the authority of experts

Argumentation, 2011

Work in Argumentation Studies (AS) and Studies in Expertise and Experience (SEE) has been proceeding on converging trajectories, moving from resistance to expert authority to a cautious acceptance of its legitimacy. The two projects are therefore also converging on the need to account for how, in the course of complex and confused civic deliberations, nonexpert citizens can figure out which statements from purported experts deserve their trust. Both projects recognize that nonexperts cannot assess expertise directly; instead, the nonexpert must judge whether to trust the expert. But how is this social judgment accomplished? A normative pragmatic approach from AS can complement and extend the work from SEE on this question, showing that the expert’s putting forward of his view and ‘‘bonding’’ it with his reputation for expertise works to force or ‘‘blackmail’’ his audience of citizens into heeding what he says. Appeals to authority thus produce the visibility and accountability we want for expert views in civic deliberations.

On a Razor’s Edge: Evaluating Arguments from Expert Opinion

Argument and Computation, 5(2-3), 2014, 139-159.

This paper takes an argumentation approach to find the place of trust in a method for evaluating arguments from expert opinion. The method uses the argumentation scheme for argument from expert opinion along with its matching set of critical questions. It shows how to use this scheme in three formal computational argumentation models that provide tools to analyze and evaluate instances of argument from expert opinion. The paper uses several examples to illustrate the use of these tools. A conclusion of the paper is that from an argumentation point of view, it is better to critically question arguments from expert opinion than to accept or reject them based solely on trust.

The Appeal to Expert Opinion in Contexts of Political Deliberation and the Problem of Group Bias (2013)

Annals of Philosophy - University of Bucharest, ISSN 0068 - 3175, 2013

In this paper, I will try to answer the question: How are we supposed to assess the expert's opinion in an argument from the position of an outsider to the specialized field? by placing it in the larger context of the political status of epistemic authority. In order to do this I will first sketch the actual debate around the problem of expertise in a democracy and relate this to the issue of the status of science in society. Secondly, I will review how Douglas Walton's pragma-dialectical approach offers a practical procedure to assess the expert bias from a nonprofessional's perspective. Thirdly, I will introduce the problem of group bias using insights from Bohman and Fischer and show how Walton's solution does not address this specific type of bias. Lastly, I will try proposing a revision of Walton's solution in order to address this problem. In order to make the explanation more easy to follow I will use a case study concerning the medical expertise in the public debate on second-hand smoke.

The Appeal to Expert Opinion in Contexts of Political Deliberation and the Problem of Group Bias

Annals of the University of Bucharest - Philosophy Series, 2013

In this paper, I will try to answer the question: How are we supposed to assess the expert’s opinion in an argument from the position of an outsider to the specialized field? by placing it in the larger context of the political status of epistemic authority. In order to do this I will first sketch the actual debate around the problem of expertise in a democracy and relate this to the issue of the status of science in society. Secondly, I will review how Douglas Walton’s pragma-dialectical approach offers a practical procedure to assess the expert bias from a nonprofessional’s perspective. Thirdly, I will introduce the problem of group bias using insights from Bohman and Fischer and show how Walton’s solution does not address this specific type of bias. Lastly, I will try proposing a revision of Walton’s solution in order to address this problem. In order to make the explanation more easy to follow I will use a case study concerning the medical expertise in the public debate on secon...

ExpErt KnowlEdgE , EvidEncE , and information ConheCimento por espeCialista

ConheCimento por espeCialista, evidênCia e informação tommaso piazza* AbstrAct-In this paper I argue that the existence of expert knowledge potentially poses a problem for Evidentialism, the view that a person's justification supervenes on the evidence this person has. An expert is the kind of person from which knowledge (or justified belief) is expected in situations in which a non-expert would normally not attain knowledge (or justified belief); so, potentially, the epistemic status of their beliefs differ even if the evidence they possess seems to be the same. A viable solution to this problem has to show that, appearances to the contrary, the expert and the non-expert, in the problematic cases, do not possess the same evidence. I propose a solution to this problem by defending a principle that specifies the conditions under which a piece of information should be counted as evidence.

Disagreeing with Experts

International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 2024

This paper addresses the question of who should be trusted as an expert and when, particularly in the context of public deliberation. Trust in experts is crucial in making decisions about public policies that involve complex information beyond the expertise of most people. However, fruitful deliberation also requires being able to resist misinformation campaigns, no matter how widespread these might be; being able, in general, to evaluate the evidence at our disposal and form our own opinions. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on this apparent tension between epistemic deference and epistemic independence. The paper has two goals. First, it aims at providing a more nuanced understanding of the question of who should be trusted as an expert by examining cases in which seemingly factual claims are made in public settings by experts. Second, it emphasizes the need to pay attention to the conditions under which we actually trust each other. We suggest that fostering trust in science may be better approached by modifying the conditions under which scientific dialogue takes place, rather than trying to convince the public to trust experts, or blaming them for not doing so.

Arguing through uncertainty.pdf

Rethinking the BSE Crisis, 2010

In the last chapter, the evidential basis of Wilesmith et al.'s aetiological claim was examined in detail. That claim sought to relate BSE and scrapie in the sense that BSE was caused by the transmission of scrapie to cattle. The evidence in support of this claim, I argued, was not without its weaknesses. The result was a rather tentative claim that was certainly grounds enough for proceeding in inquiry, but still fell some way short of the type of outright commitment that is associated with an established scientific thesis. I called this tentative claim a presumption and the evidential standard that attends it plausibility. Presumption has been something of a poor cousin in epistemological discussion. While concepts such as knowledge and belief have dominated epistemology, presumption has been the subject of much less philosophical inquiry. Yet, this notion has very direct relevance to a range of scientific deliberations, particularly where those deliberations are conducted against a backdrop of uncertainty. In this chapter, I demonstrate the epistemic resourcefulness of presumption within scientific inquiry that proceeds in a context of uncertainty. I will examine how the very features that have made philosophers overlook, if not altogether shun, this epistemic concept are the features that have made presumption a key ally of scientists in an emerging inquiry. These features include, most notably, presumption's defeasibility and its association with error. A sound grasp of presumption on its own terms is vital if we are to proceed in delineating the type of argumentative strategies that were used by scientists during the first weeks and months of the BSE crisis. For presumption is the concept at the very heart of these strategies.