Ep. 252 - It's OK Not to Think for Yourself? w/Dr. Jon Matheson

Nov 21, 2023

Dr. Jon Matheson, philosopher and author of "Why It's OK Not to Think for Yourself," joins the podcast to discuss the concept of thinking for oneself. They explore the balance between epistemic autonomy and deference to others' beliefs, the acceptability of not thinking for oneself, and the importance of deferring to experts in certain areas. The podcast also dives into the role of self-knowledge, the significance of intellectual responsibility, and the idea that a paper can always be improved.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Thinking for Yourself: The Balance of Epistemic Autonomy

02:16 • 10min

Is It Okay to Not Think for Oneself?

12:34 • 10min

Deferring to Experts vs. Thinking for Oneself

22:28 • 7min

Thinking for Oneself and Expert Consensus

29:40 • 19min

Thinking for Oneself and the Importance of Intellectual Responsibility

48:40 • 14min

The Role of Self-Knowledge and Expertise

01:02:14 • 5min

The Idea That a Paper Can Always Be Improved and Not Thinking for Oneself

01:07:24 • 3min

We're often exhorted to "think for yourself" but philosopher Jonathan Matheson argues that it's actually okay not to think for yourself in way more cases than we might intuitively think. In episode 252 of the Parker's Pensées Podcast, I have Dr. Matheson back on to discuss his new book, Why It's OK Not to Think for Yourself. Grab Jonathan Matheson's book, Why It's OK Not to Think for Yourself, here and use promo code AFL04 at checkout for 20% off: https://www.routledge.com/Why-Its-OK-Not-to-Think-for-Yourself/Matheson/p/book/9781032438252 Check out my sponsor Murdy Creative Co. to find amazing leather goods and to support the podcast. Use promo code PARKERNOTES at check out for 10% your whole order!! https://murdycreative.co/PARKERNOTES Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbTRurpFP5q4TpDD_P2JDA/join Join the Facebook group, Parker's Pensées Penseurs, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/960471494536285/ If you like this podcast, then support it on Patreon for $3, $5 or more a month. Any amount helps, and for $5 you get a Parker's Pensées sticker and instant access to all the episode as I record them instead of waiting for their release date. Check it out here: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parkers_pensees If you want to give a one-time gift, you can give at my Paypal: https://paypal.me/ParkersPensees?locale.x=en_US Check out my merchandise at my Teespring store: https://teespring.com/stores/parkers-penses-merch Come talk with the Pensées community on Discord: dsc.gg/parkerspensees Sub to my Substack to read my thoughts on my episodes: https://parknotes.substack.com/ Check out my blog posts: https://parkersettecase.com/ Check out my Parker's Pensées YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbTRurpFP5q4TpDD_P2JDA Check out my other YouTube channel on my frogs and turtles: https://www.youtube.com/c/ParkerSettecase 0:00 - How'd this project come about? 5:09 - What does it mean to think for yourself? 13:56 - Is Thinking for Yourself more praiseworthy? 22:44 - How do we find experts to defer to? 29:38 - Will Evidential Swamping Destroy Philosophy? 40:06 - Victims and Victim Blaming 48:41 - The Socratic Objection 54:55 - Implications for Pascal's Wager 1:02:27 - Self-Knowledge and thinking for yourself