Resistance to Evidence

Explores the phenomenon of distrusting evidence coming from reliable sources with current examples including climate change and vaccine scepticism. The book argues that evidence resistance relates to a type of cognitive malfunction and distinguishes it from justified evidence rejection occurring in environments polluted with disinformation.

List of contents

Introduction; Part I. The Epistemology and Psychology of Resistance to Evidence: 1. Resistance to evidence: triggers and epistemic status; 2. Evidence one has and the impermissibility of resistance; 3. Evidence you should have had and resistance; 4. Permissible suspension and evidence resistance; 5. Resistance to evidence, epistemic responsibility, and epistemic vice; Part II. Resistance to Evidence and Epistemic Proper Function: 6. Resistance to evidence as epistemic malfunction; 7. Evidence as knowledge indicators; 8. Defeaters as ignorance indicators; 9. Permissible suspensions and permissible withholdings; Part III. Theoretical Upshots: 10. Epistemic oughts and epistemic dilemmas; 11. Scepticism as resistance to evidence; 12. Knowledge and disinformation; Concluding remarks: the way forward in policy and practice; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Mona Simion is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the COGITO Epistemology Research Centre at the University of Glasgow. Her publications include Sharing Knowledge (Cambridge, 2021) and Shifty Speech and Independent Thought (2021).

Product details

• Authors: Mona Simion
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 31.08.2025
• EAN: 9781009298513
• ISBN: 978-1-009-29851-3
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; SOCIAL SCIENCE / General, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Modern, PHILOSOPHY / Epistemology, Philosophy, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology, Western philosophy from c 1800, Ethical issues and debates, Philosophy: epistemology and theory of knowledge