Epistemic arrogance and political decision-making in the context of a pandemic response in the Philippines

Date of Publication

2023

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy

Subject Categories

Philosophy

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Philosophy

Thesis Advisor

Mark Anthony L. Dacela

Defense Panel Member

Robert James M. Boyles
Napoleon M. Mabaquiao, Jr.
Elenita D. Garcia

Abstract/Summary

The framework of Constructivist Vice Epistemology considers the notion of epistemic vices as obstacles to knowledge, while also noting that not all obstacles to knowledge are epistemic vices. Broadly speaking, epistemic vices are character traits, attitudes, and ways of thinking that hinder one from appropriately acquiring, transmitting, and or retaining knowledge. They are not confined to a flawed way of thinking as it comes in several different varieties. One of its essential features is that it makes one an inadequate thinker as it interferes in all sorts of ways with one’s Individual and Collective Epistemic functioning. In this paper, I primarily focus on epistemic arrogance as an epistemic vice, and how it affects political decision-making in the face of a pandemic. Epistemic Arrogance is an individual’s hubris concerning the limits of his or her knowledge. An individual who is known to be epistemically arrogant fails at times to recognize his or her fallibility. However, it extends beyond merely failing to realize one’s fallibility. According to Alessandra Tenesini and Michael Lynch, it can manifest in at least 3 ways such as (1) Haughtiness, a manifestation of arrogance through the disdain of other people, (2) Unaccountability, a manifestation of arrogance through not being able to take responsibility for one’s putative assertions and (3) Dogmatic Listening, a manifestation of arrogance which makes one unable to recognize even the possibility of him or her being fallible. In this paper, I claim that the Philippine national government under President Duterte, taken or treated as an institution, exhibited epistemic arrogance, specifically in relation to its COVID-19-related political decision-making and pandemic response. Various actors in the Philippine institution can be said to possess the epistemic vice of arrogance, however, I argue that the Philippines as an institution possesses this vice. Doctors and Health Professionals all over the globe united in their efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic. Compared to other nations, the Philippines implemented one of the longest and strictest lockdowns. Regardless, it still struggled in dealing with the pandemic. I argue for this by first giving a brief discussion of institutions within the context of epistemology. In this section, I notably delve into whether or not one could ascribe vices or virtues to collectives. Next, I discuss Epistemic Arrogance and its manifestations. Afterward, I analyze which of these manifestations of Epistemic Arrogance also applies or manifests in institutions. Once these are established, I then investigated how these manifestations are emanated by the Philippine government through the analysis of their political decision-making and pandemic response. I conclude by noting that Epistemic Arrogance is saturated within the institution of the Philippine government because it did not follow the standard procedures in political decision-making concerning the pandemic response.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Knowledge, Theory of; Decision making; Epistemics

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Embargo Period

4-27-2023

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