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Epistemology of Wikipedia

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Epistemology is a major branch of philosophy and is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. The epistemology of Wikipedia has been a subject of interest from the earliest days of its existence.[citation needed]

Early analysis related the epistemology of Wikipedia to social epistemology. Other realms of epistemological research; epistemology of testimony, and epistemic value theory have been addressed with reference to Wikipedia.[1]: 6 

More recent analysis suggests that the epistemology of Wikipedia derives from the combined epistemic values of wikis and of encyclopedias. Jankowski[2] cites Ruth and Houghton[3] who define the epistemic values of wikis as:

  • self-identification
  • collaboration
  • co-construction
  • cooperation
  • trust in the community
  • constructionism

Jankowski suggests that determination of the epistemic values of encyclopedias is more problematic requiring genre analysis.[2] This analysis revealed that encyclopedias value:

  • utility
  • systematic organization
  • authority
  • trust in experts
  • consistency

Fallis[1] previously identified the specific epistemic virtues of Wikipedia as

  • power
  • speed
  • fecundity

References

  1. ^ a b Fallis, Don (2008). "Toward an Epistemology of Wikipedia". Social Science Research Network. SSRN 1263781.
  2. ^ a b Jankowski, Steve (2013). Wikipedia and encylopaedism: A genre analysis of epistemological values (PDF) (M.A.). See also blog post and comments, 27 May 2013.
  3. ^ Ruth, Alison L.; Houghton, Luke (2009). "The wiki way of learning". Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 25 (2): 135–152. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22.