Experts, expertise and philosophy

This article outlines the relevance and significance of the philosophical analysis of the essence of expertise by drawing upon existing Western contributions within the “philosophy of expertise” and offering author’s vision of this issue. Due to the postulation of the importance of expertise as a so...

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Main Author: Xenija Zborovska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Institute of Higher Education 2023-07-01
Series:Філософія освіти
Subjects:
Online Access:https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/763
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author Xenija Zborovska
author_facet Xenija Zborovska
author_sort Xenija Zborovska
collection DOAJ
description This article outlines the relevance and significance of the philosophical analysis of the essence of expertise by drawing upon existing Western contributions within the “philosophy of expertise” and offering author’s vision of this issue. Due to the postulation of the importance of expertise as a social phenomenon, the emphasis has been shifted from the expert himself to those actors who use his expertise. The main part of the article is devoted to author’s concept of the three dimensions of expertise: ontic, deontic, and epistemological. The ontic dimension of expertise encompasses the phenomena of the objectual-sensory world that reflect the basis of an expert’s competence and involvement in a community of professionals. However, since expertise is a social activity rather than solely individual, alongside the ontic dimension of contextually verified competencies, there is a mandatory presence of a special responsibility on the expert’s behalf, leading to the discussion of the deontic dimension. As the epistemological dimension is one of the most debated in the context of the philosophy of expertise, its elucidation proves to be the most intricate and intriguing within this work. It raises questions regarding the dual nature of knowledge, the epistemic conditions of expertise quality, such as understanding (relevant terms, arguments, etc.), and the presence of propositional justification. This section concludes with an argument for the necessity of simultaneously considering all three dimensions when analyzing real-world expertise. Furthermore, by appealing to real social practices, the second part of the article attempts to demonstrate that the foundation of expertise analysis is deeply rooted in European civilization, starting from Socratic inquiries. Socrates began scrutinizing the epistemic value of ancient experts in light of the socio-political crisis of that time, including crises in the humanitarian sphere. Such a preliminary review of this issue should provoke a discussion, the expression of certain assessments and remarks, which will turn into a full-fledged professional discussion.
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spelling doaj.art-db4bbbf749dd4afe9ffba02dd0c416062023-07-21T22:59:09ZengNational Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Institute of Higher EducationФілософія освіти2309-16062616-76622023-07-0129114115210.31874/2309-1606-2023-29-1-81176Experts, expertise and philosophyXenija Zborovska0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0949-3801НАН УкраїниThis article outlines the relevance and significance of the philosophical analysis of the essence of expertise by drawing upon existing Western contributions within the “philosophy of expertise” and offering author’s vision of this issue. Due to the postulation of the importance of expertise as a social phenomenon, the emphasis has been shifted from the expert himself to those actors who use his expertise. The main part of the article is devoted to author’s concept of the three dimensions of expertise: ontic, deontic, and epistemological. The ontic dimension of expertise encompasses the phenomena of the objectual-sensory world that reflect the basis of an expert’s competence and involvement in a community of professionals. However, since expertise is a social activity rather than solely individual, alongside the ontic dimension of contextually verified competencies, there is a mandatory presence of a special responsibility on the expert’s behalf, leading to the discussion of the deontic dimension. As the epistemological dimension is one of the most debated in the context of the philosophy of expertise, its elucidation proves to be the most intricate and intriguing within this work. It raises questions regarding the dual nature of knowledge, the epistemic conditions of expertise quality, such as understanding (relevant terms, arguments, etc.), and the presence of propositional justification. This section concludes with an argument for the necessity of simultaneously considering all three dimensions when analyzing real-world expertise. Furthermore, by appealing to real social practices, the second part of the article attempts to demonstrate that the foundation of expertise analysis is deeply rooted in European civilization, starting from Socratic inquiries. Socrates began scrutinizing the epistemic value of ancient experts in light of the socio-political crisis of that time, including crises in the humanitarian sphere. Such a preliminary review of this issue should provoke a discussion, the expression of certain assessments and remarks, which will turn into a full-fledged professional discussion.https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/763philosophy of expertiseexpertiseexpertepistemic valueresponsibilitysocrates
spellingShingle Xenija Zborovska
Experts, expertise and philosophy
Філософія освіти
philosophy of expertise
expertise
expert
epistemic value
responsibility
socrates
title Experts, expertise and philosophy
title_full Experts, expertise and philosophy
title_fullStr Experts, expertise and philosophy
title_full_unstemmed Experts, expertise and philosophy
title_short Experts, expertise and philosophy
title_sort experts expertise and philosophy
topic philosophy of expertise
expertise
expert
epistemic value
responsibility
socrates
url https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/763
work_keys_str_mv AT xenijazborovska expertsexpertiseandphilosophy