Philosophy Lecture Series: "Are there Epistemic Norms on Attention?"

Join the Department of Philosophy for a lecture titled "The Turn Back from the Turn Inward: From Political
Philosophy, to Psychology, to Identity Politics and Affirmative Action," presented by Cat Saint-Croix, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota.

Abstract: Of course, you ought not stare at the zit on your friend’s nose. Obviously, you shouldn’t let your fantasies run away with your coworker while they’re trying to talk to you. Clearly, you need to set your phone down while driving. These are all attentional norms. But none of them are epistemic. They are norms about politeness and ethics: You should pay attention to the road; You should attend to what your coworker is saying; You should not attend to your friends in ways that unnecessarily make them uneasy or emphasize their flaws. So, it is obvious that there are norms on attention. The central question of this talk is whether there are (or even can be) epistemic norms on attention. I will argue that epistemic norms on attention are possible and offer a candidate norm: fruitfulness.