ABSTRACT
The fact of expertise – and the problem of experts that it triggers: how to judge the reliability of expert judgments as a non-expert – originates from the even more basic fact that knowledge is unevenly distributed in society. Trust in experts, or epistemic trust, is a core topic in the field of social epistemology which has emerged during the past decades. Traditionally, epistemology has focused on individual epistemic subjects and overlooked the social or intersubjective dimension of our knowledge. Blind trust or deference to authority would seem to be irrational; there must be some justification for believing in an expert judgment. During corona times, trust in science and expert authorities increased in many countries, even as social inequalities and political cleavages were growing, and expert disagreements regarding the pandemic and how to respond to it were exposed in public debate on an almost daily basis.
