Perspectives on Ignorance from Moral and Social Philosophy

Rik Peels is a postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His primary research interests are the ethics of belief, ignorance, science and scientism, and various issues in the philosophy of religion, such as whether God has a sense of humor. He published on these issues in, amongst others, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Philosophical Quarterly, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. He is the author of Responsible Belief: An Essay at the Intersection of Ethics and Epistemology (2016). In this book, he argues that we lack control over our beliefs. We are nevertheless responsible for our beliefs because of the influence we have on our beliefs. Responsible belief should be understood in terms of our obligations to exercise such influence and in terms of being excused for failing to do so. With Martijn Blaauw, he edited another volume on ignorance: The Epistemic Dimensions of Ignorance (2016). With Jeroen de Ridder and René van Woudenberg, he is also the editor of Scientism: A Philosophical Exposition and Evaluation (2017).

1. Introduction Rik Peels

2. Ignorance, Alternative Possibilities, and the Epistemic Conditions for Responsibility Carolina Sartorio

3. Moral Incapacity and Moral Ignorance Elinor Mason

4. Justification, Excuse, and the Exculpatory Power of Ignorance Marcia Baron

5. Ignorance as a Moral Excuse Michael Zimmerman

6. Tracing Cases of Culpable Ignorance Holly M. Smith

7. Is Making People Ignorant as Bad as Deceiving Them? Don Fallis

8. Radical Evaluative Ignorance Martin Peterson

9. Living with Ignorance in a World of Experts Alexander Guerrero

10. Risk: Knowledge, Ignorance, and Values Combined Sven Ove Hansson

11. Ignorance as a Legal Excuse Larry Alexander

12. Ignorance, Technology, and Collective Responsibility Seumas Miller