Predatory Grooming and Epistemic Infringement

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-148
Author(s):  
Lauren Leydon-Hardy

Predatory grooming is a form of abuse most familiar from high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, for example, the Nassar case at Michigan State. Predatory groomers target individuals in a systematic effort to lead them into relationships in which they are vulnerable to exploitation. This is an example of a broader form of epistemic misconduct that Leydon-Hardy describes as epistemic infringement, where this involves the contravention of social and epistemic norms in a way that undermines our epistemic agency. In this chapter, Leydon-Hardy looks at the distinctive epistemic harm caused by epistemic infringement. She argues that this harm cannot be understood simply as the victim’s having a false belief, or even as her being alienated from her belief-forming mechanisms. A deeper understanding of the harm caused by infringement shows that it stems from damage to one’s epistemic agency, and indeed, to one’s personhood.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-309
Author(s):  
J. Spencer Atkins ◽  

Many authors have argued that epistemic rationality sometimes comes into conflict with our relationships. Although Sarah Stroud and Simon Keller argue that friendships sometimes require bad epistemic agency, their proposals do not go far enough. I argue here for a more radical claim—romantic love sometimes requires we form beliefs that are false. Lovers stand in a special position with one another; they owe things to one another that they do not owe to others. Such demands hold for beliefs as well. Two facets of love ground what I call the false belief requirement , or the demand to form false beliefs when it is for the good of the beloved: the demand to love for the right reasons and the demand to refrain from doxastic wronging. Since truth is indispensable to epistemic rationality, the requirement to believe falsely, consequently, undermines truth norms. I demonstrate that, when the false belief requirement obtains, there is an irreconcilable conflict between love and truth norms of epistemic rationality: we must forsake one, at least at the time, for the other.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-153
Author(s):  
Mia J. Abboud ◽  
Guangzhen Wu ◽  
Amelie Pedneault ◽  
Mary K. Stohr ◽  
Craig Hemmens

Educator sexual misconduct is a problem that has gained increased attention because of the high-profile cases reported by the news media. Yet, the diversity in state law regarding this offense remains somewhat unexplored. In this article, we compare and evaluate state statutory provisions regarding educator sexual misconduct; our focus is on what constitutes educator sexual misconduct, and what penalties are provided for offenders. As such, we explore the differences and similarities in statutory provisions across states in terms of the definition of child sexual assault, the age of consent, the penalties for various types of sexual misconduct perpetrated by teachers, and any requirement for registration as sex offenders. Our findings indicate that though the number of applicable statutes has almost doubled since 2010, there remains a wide variety in the definition and penalties included in those laws, and 21 states have not chosen to enact a specific law at all.


2019 ◽  
pp. 105-123
Author(s):  
Sophie Horowitz

Evidence can be misleading: it can rationalize raising one’s confidence in false propositions, and lowering one’s confidence in the truth. But can a rational agent know that her total evidence supports a (particular) falsehood? It seems not: if we could see ahead of time that our evidence supported a false belief, then we could avoid believing what our evidence supported, and hence avoid being misled. So, it seems, evidence cannot be predictably misleading. This chapter develops a new problem for higher-order evidence: it is predictably misleading. It then examines a radical strategy for explaining higher-order evidence, according to which there are two distinct epistemic norms at work in the relevant cases. Finally, the chapter suggests that mainstream accounts of higher-order evidence may be able to answer the challenge after all. But to do so, they must deny that epistemic rationality requires believing what is likely given one’s evidence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-86
Author(s):  
Brittney Amber ◽  
Tuyen K. Dinh ◽  
Arielle N. Lewis ◽  
Leidy D. Trujillo ◽  
Margaret S. Stockdale

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible effect of #MeToo media on individuals’ personal recall and reinterpretation of sex harassment (SH) experiences. The authors experimentally examine how exposure to high-profile stories of sexual misconduct triggers memories and reinterpretation of one’s own past SH experiences. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 393 US adults, participants were randomly assigned to read one of four media passages, two of which were news stories or transcripts of high-profile cases of sexual harassment or misconduct (e.g., the Trump Access Hollywood transcript), then completed the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) and follow-up questions about how the media impacted their memory of their prior SH experiences. Findings Sexual misconduct media stories, compared to control conditions, indirectly predicted self-report of past SH (SEQ) through both remembering and reinterpreting one’s past experiences. Gender and political ideology moderated the indirect effects such that the effects of the media stories were stronger for women and for those higher on progressive political ideology. Practical implications This study experimentally demonstrated what has publicly been assumed to be a driving force behind the upswing of SH reports and the seriousness by which they have been regarded during the #MeToo era: publicized stories of high-profile sexual misconduct triggers personal recall of having been sexually harassed in the past and reinterpretation of SH experiences. The #MeToo movement may be acting as a driver of social change, facilitating changes in social norms. As these social norms change, organizations should be prepared to effectively respond to a possible increase in reporting SH experiences due changes in norms around reporting SH. Originality/value This study uses an experimental design to investigate the role of high-profile media stories about SH as a driving force behind the #MeToo movement.


Author(s):  
Catherine Z. Elgin

Epistemic norms are norms of responsible epistemic agency. They are the norms that would emerge from the deliberations of legislating members of a quasi-Kantian realm of epistemic ends. Such legislators must be, in a political sense, free and equal in their deliberations.


Author(s):  
J. A. Eades

For well over two decades computers have played an important role in electron microscopy; they now pervade the whole field - as indeed they do in so many other aspects of our lives. The initial use of computers was mainly for large (as it seemed then) off-line calculations for image simulations; for example, of dislocation images.Image simulation has continued to be one of the most notable uses of computers particularly since it is essential to the correct interpretation of high resolution images. In microanalysis, too, the computer has had a rather high profile. In this case because it has been a necessary part of the equipment delivered by manufacturers. By contrast the use of computers for electron diffraction analysis has been slow to prominence. This is not to say that there has been no activity, quite the contrary; however it has not had such a great impact on the field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-514
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Hwa-Froelich ◽  
Hisako Matsuo

Purpose Pragmatic language is important for social communication across all settings. Children adopted internationally (CAI) may be at risk of poorer pragmatic language because of adverse early care, delayed adopted language development, and less ability to inhibit. The purpose of this study was to compare pragmatic language performance of CAI from Asian and Eastern European countries with a nonadopted group of children who were of the same age and from similar socioeconomic backgrounds as well as explore the relationship among emotion identification, false belief understanding, and inhibition variables with pragmatic language performance. Method Using a quasi-experimental design, 35 four-year-old CAI (20 Asian, 15 Eastern European) and 33 children who were not adopted were included in this study. The children's pragmatic language, general language, and social communication (emotion identification of facial expressions, false belief understanding, inhibition) were measured. Comparisons by region of origin and adoption experience were completed. We conducted split-half correlation analyses and entered significant correlation variables into simple and backward regression models. Results Pragmatic language performance differed by adoption experience. The adopted and nonadopted groups demonstrated different correlation patterns. Language performance explained most of the pragmatic language variance. Discussion Because CAI perform less well than their nonadopted peers on pragmatic communication measures and different variables are related to their pragmatic performance, speech-language pathologists may need to adapt assessment and intervention practices for this population.


PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (Supplement 4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Brooke

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