Objective, Subjective and Intersubjective Selectors of Knowledge

Abstract

. It is argued that the acceptance of knowledge in a community depends on several, approximately independent selection "criteria". The objective criteria are distinctiveness, invariance and controllability, the subjective ones are individual utility, coherence, simplicity and novelty, and the intersubjective ones are publicity, expressivity, formality, collective utility, conformity and authority. Science demarcates itself from other forms of knowledge by explicitly controlling for the objective criteria. KEYWORDS: evolutionary epistemology, selection criteria, knowledge, science Introduction It is with great pleasure that I use this opportunity to comment on Donald T. Campbell's last paper (1997). I came into contact with Don's work in 1984, during a conference on evolutionary epistemology at the University of Ghent. Since then, his writings have been a constant source of inspiration. After we met, in 1990, we started to regularly exchange publications. Each time I received a ...

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