The Ethics of Doubt - Kierkegaard, Scepticism and Conspiracy Theory

While the ancient sceptics regarded scepticism about knowledge as a way of life, philosophers from
Descartes to the present day have viewed it primarily as an intellectual problem that requires only a
theoretical solution. This project intends to challenge this common assumption by focussing on a figure
almost entirely overlooked by mainstream epistemology: Soren Kierkegaard.
Core aims of the project are:
*To bring Kierkegaard's existential epistemology into dialogue with the contemporary mainstream, in
particular in respect to the relation between the intellectual vices, such as a lack of intellectual
courage, and various forms of scepticism. Although virtue epistemology is currently a booming
topic, the connection between intellectual courage and knowledge remains entirely unexplored,
both within epistemology itself as well as in wider cultural debates.
*To examine the similarities between radical scepticism (the thought that we may know nothing
about the world) and global conspiracy theories. Since radical scepticism is taken very seriously in
epistemology, while conspiracy theories tend to be dismissed, this raises the questions: If something
is wrong with global conspiracy theories, is something equally wrong with radical scepticism?
Conversely, if we cannot dismiss radical scepticism, can we similarly not dismiss global conspiracy
theories?
*To apply Kierkegaard's insight that knowledge requires courage to a central challenge of our time:
loss of faith in knowledge, expertise and authority. Never has such an investigation been more
pressing than in the current pandemic, which has given rise to an unprecedented surge in conspiracy
theories and 'fake news'.
The project will deliver ground-breaking results along three dimensions: historical (Kierkegaard's
existential response to doubt), theoretical (the relation between intellectual vice and scepticism), and
applied (the relation between intellectual courage and knowledge scepticism in the wider culture).