Introduction

The contemporary significance of the epistemology of democracy is difficult to overstate. Democracy is at a crossroads, with recent volumes spelling out its procedural failures and the frequency of its collapses. Methodologically, the epistemology of democracy is consciously interdisciplinary and eclectic. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book tackles politically hazardous epistemic vices with substantial sociopolitical corollaries, such as closed-mindedness, epistemic arrogance, cowardice, dishonesty, and dogmatic epistemic self-affirmation. It argues that it has become philosophically prevalent to justify democracy by centering on the incidence of individual epistemic virtues within an electorate. The book builds upon empirical research regarding belief polarization to suggest an epistemic underpinning for treating our political adversaries as equals.