eprintid: 10196665
rev_number: 9
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/19/66/65
datestamp: 2024-10-11 11:12:51
lastmod: 2024-10-11 11:12:51
status_changed: 2024-10-11 11:12:51
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Sarantaris, Achilleas
title: Genealogical Echo-Chambers: A Diagnostic and Normative Account or: how I learned to stop worrying about myths and embrace my epistemic anxiety
ispublished: unpub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C01
divisions: F16
note: Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
abstract: Echo-chambers are becoming increasingly widespread in our everyday reality - from political disputes to the so-called culture wars, polarised groups of believers are seemingly unable to change their minds whilst engaging in public disagreement. Echo-chambers are also becoming increasingly compelling, with more and more people attracted to reified worldviews which offer no room for opposing viewpoints. Recent academic research in philosophy has delved into the phenomenon of echo chambers (Begby, 2020; Elzinga, 2020; Nguyen, 2020; Ranalli & Malcom, 2023). However, there are two issues which remain under-explored - what makes an echo-chamber more successful in compelling and maintaining popular support than others, and whether, as well as how, an agent is able to resist joining one that they already find compelling. The aim of this thesis is to address these two interlocking issues by firstly providing a diagnostic account of the power of echo-chambers, and secondly a normative account of how we ought to act if we find ourselves in their grip. In Chapter A, I survey the current literature and argue that it lacks fine-grained diagnostic and normative accounts that correspond to our epistemic reality, as well as motivate the benefits of having such accounts. In Chapter B, I propose a novel account of echo-chambers I call genealogical echo-chambers: echochambers which rely on genealogical narratives for their epistemic aims. I argue that my account is able to sufficiently address the diagnostic aim by introducing a way to understand the relative power of different echochambers. In Chapter C, I argue that my account is also able to provide subjectively-accessible action-guiding reasons for someone on the grip of an epistemically problematic echo-chamber to know when to resist joining it, thereby fulfilling the normative aim of the thesis.
date: 2024-09-28
date_type: published
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
thesis_class: res_masters_open
thesis_award: M.Phil.Stud
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2310092
lyricists_name: Sarantaris, Achilleas
lyricists_id: ASARA91
actors_name: Sarantaris, Achilleas
actors_name: Kalinowski, Damian
actors_id: ASARA91
actors_id: DKALI47
actors_role: owner
actors_role: impersonator
full_text_status: public
pages: 78
institution: UCL (University College London)
department: Philosophy
thesis_type: Masters
citation:        Sarantaris, Achilleas;      (2024)    Genealogical Echo-Chambers: A Diagnostic and Normative Account or: how I learned to stop worrying about myths and embrace my epistemic anxiety.                   Masters thesis  (M.Phil.Stud), UCL (University College London).     Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10196665/1/13013329_Achilleas_Sarantaris_Thesis.pdf