The 18th Cologne Summer School in Philosophy (CSSiP) on

Applied Epistemology

takes place in Cologne from July 21 to July 25, 2025. Our special guest will be Alex Worsnip (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

The Cologne Summer School is an annual, week-long, event at which leading epistemologists present their current work in a series of lectures, defend their views against critical comments, and discuss their work with participants. The Summer School mainly aims at professional philosophers and graduate students, but anyone is welcome to apply.

Worsnip’s past work in epistemology has dealt with a variety of theoretical topics, including requirements of structural rationality (or coherence), higher-order evidence, disagreement, fallibilism, and pragmatic encroachment. In recent work, he has turned his attention to issues in applied epistemology, with a particular focus on the epistemic responsibilities of ordinary citizens in a democracy. He is currently at work on a book that introduces applied epistemology to introductory readers through the lens of various elements of our current (purported) “epistemic crisis,” such as distrust in experts, conspiracy theories, echo chambers, motivated reasoning, and polarization. A general trend in recent philosophy has been to defend these phenomena from charges of irrationality or epistemic pathology. Cumulatively, it is suggested that our alleged crisis is not so deep after all. Worsnip’s work pushes back on this trend, arguing that these phenomena are, for the most part, epistemically problematic, and that epistemic rationality and responsible citizenship require changing our epistemic practices to avoid their pitfalls. In arguing for this view, Worsnip seeks to integrate lessons from his more abstract earlier work into applied contexts; incorporates insights from formal epistemology, empirical psychology, and other social sciences; and takes an approach that is resolutely “non-ideal” in the sense that it takes seriously our fallibility and our inability to effectively follow norms designed for perfectly rational agents. 

This summer school will focus on topics such as:

• deference to experts
• conspiracy theories
• echo chambers
• motivated reasoning
• polarization and partisanship

Attendance is free but limited to 50 participants – to be selected on the basis of motivation and qualification. Online application is possible through April 15. Please supply a short letter that sketches your academic background and main motivation for participating in the Summer School. If you are interested in giving a brief presentation (approx. 20 minutes) related to Worsnip’s work, please also send an abstract of no more than 1,000 words. We will inform you about the result of your application soon after the deadline.

Apply via email to:
summerschoolphilosophyuni-koeln.de

Prof. Dr. Thomas Grundmann
Philosophisches Seminar
Universität zu Köln
Germany