Moral Epistemology--When Propositions Come Out of Mouths

Testimony in African epistemology revisited

“…He here again seems to side with a demanding version of internalism where access to the reliability of the interlocutor is required: "the moral character of the informant becomes an important criterion of its reliability [i.e. the information]" (Hallen 2006, 5; see also Hallen 1998;2000;2004). 18 That is, the recipient needs to access the reliability via the moral character of the interlocutor before she can become justified in her testimonial belief.…”

“…27 There are hints that Hallen and Sodipo are aware of them playing such a role in their conversations with the onisegun. They remark that "our role is that of the intellectual gadfly who persists in raising questions that do not arise in any society, and in reintroducing offshoots of them until our understanding and curiosity (as they see it) are satisfied" (Hallen and Sodipo 1997, 123; see also Hallen 1998).…”

“…In another passage where Hallen and Sodipo note that a claim to "imo" is most often not challenged, they write "it would be unrealistic to presume the [Yoruba] system requires the verification of every claim to knowledge, all the time" (Hallen and Sodipo 1997, 78; emphasis in original; see also Hallen 1998;2000). Here various forms of epistemic contextualism argues that different standards and criteria come in play precisely when an epistemic claim is challenged.…”

“…lore (especially) passed on from elders in their society (Hallen and Sodipo 1997;Hallen 1998;2000). The African veneration of traditional lore supposedly resides in the emotions rather than in reason.…”