The Ethics of Doubt - Kierkegaard, Scepticism and Conspiracy Theory

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While the ancient sceptics regarded scepticism about knowledge as a way of life, philosophers fromDescartes to the present day have viewed it primarily as an intellectual problem that requires only atheoretical solution. This project intends to challenge this common assumption by focussing on a figurealmost 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, inparticular in respect to the relation between the intellectual vices, such as a lack of intellectualcourage, and various forms of scepticism. Although virtue epistemology is currently a boomingtopic, 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 nothingabout the world) and global conspiracy theories. Since radical scepticism is taken very seriously inepistemology, while conspiracy theories tend to be dismissed, this raises the questions: If somethingis 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 conspiracytheories?*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 morepressing than in the current pandemic, which has given rise to an unprecedented surge in conspiracytheories and 'fake news'.The project will deliver ground-breaking results along three dimensions: historical (Kierkegaard'sexistential response to doubt), theoretical (the relation between intellectual vice and scepticism), andapplied (the relation between intellectual courage and knowledge scepticism in the wider culture).