A tweet made it to the United States\u2019 front page of Reddit.com on July 21st 2019 from the subreddit, r\/GetMotivated. The tweet, originally from @michaelmiraflor, read, \u201cUnfollow [Instagram] models and influencers. Start following artists and designers. Your entire outlook on life will change\u201d.<\/p>\n
The tweet expresses something intuitively true: what you read will affect not only your mood but your worldview. Social media allows us a constantly changing stream of content to consume and so it has great potential to shape our beliefs.\u00a0 As the tweet hints at, though, much of the online content we are steeped in can be damaging to us \u2013 not only emotionally, but by changing what we believe.<\/p>\n
The tweet raises an important epistemic question: how much control do we have over what we end up believing from what we see online? Is there any epistemic risk that comes with being exposed to particular kinds of content, or are we able to pick and choose what stays with us?<\/p>\n
Consider your beliefs about \u201cmatters of fact\u201d, e.g., that glass is made of sand. It\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019ve had the personal experiences required in order to form this belief on your own, rather you\u2019ve probably acquired it from someone else. Consider, too, your ethical beliefs, e.g., about the morality of meat eating. Are these the result of personal research and reflection? To some degree, the answer is probably \u201cyes\u201d. To a non-trivial degree, though, the answer is more likely a complicated story of trusting others\u2019 judgement and personal-historical accident. For many of our beliefs, we may not be able to muster any reasons for why we took them on at all.<\/p>\n
We can now separate out two issues. The first has already been mentioned, can we will ourselves to believe particular things? Put differently, do we have direct voluntary control over what we believe? The second issue is about the extent to which we\u2019re in control of the evidence or information that we listen to and read. This matters because the content that we have access to shapes the range of possible beliefs that we can take on.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s begin with the second issue. The Internet has empowered us by providing the greatest source of knowledge we\u2019ve ever had access to. Thus, we have more opportunity than ever before to take control of the content that we see. Social media is particularly ripe for this, and it can provide a window into the lives and beliefs of people we never would have otherwise encountered. This is a win for proponents of open-mindedness and intellectual humility.<\/p>\n
Of course, a vast amount of content online isn\u2019t epistemically virtuous. It\u2019s telling that some of the most recognisable phrases of the past few years are \u201cfake news\u201d and \u201calternative facts\u201d. When we find ourselves swamped with false, misleading, or otherwise epistemically poor information, our worldview is at risk of becoming distorted from reality. This leads us to our first issue: Do we have direct voluntary control over the beliefs we form? If we do, then it might not matter so much that we\u2019re exposed to lots of poor quality content online \u2013 we can pick and choose what to believe.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s actually not apparent that we have the ability to choose what we believe. Take your own belief about the morality of eating meat. If you believe it is moral, can you will<\/em> yourself to believe that it is immoral? Most philosophers agree that we can\u2019t simply will ourselves to believe things. Instead, and in answer to our first issue, we have only indirect<\/em> voluntary control over the beliefs that we form.<\/p>\n What this usually means is that we have some control over the kinds of evidence or the testimony that we access, and our beliefs follow from exposure to these sources. This might be due in some way to rational processes like weighing the evidence for and against some idea. Oftentimes, though, it\u2019s likely that we take on beliefs for non-rational reasons \u2013 maybe emotional reasons, or maybe because we are manipulated.<\/p>\n We generally accept that childrens\u2019 beliefs work indirectly this way. They take on the beliefs of those that are around them. Children don\u2019t get much of a say about who and what they end up listening to and thus the beliefs they\u2019ll develop. Our mistake is thinking that we cease to be sponges as we age. What we gain is some control over who we listen to and what we read. We don\u2019t gain the ability to pick and choose what to believe.<\/p>\n As Annette Baier put it when describing the development of personhood more generally, we are essentially \u201csecond persons\u201d. We develop gradually over time, depending on other people in a variety of ways at different stages of life. Our personalities and our beliefs about the world develop in this context of dependency on others. As we age, we often develop somewhat reflexively in reaction both to those we\u2019ve depended on and to earlier phases of ourselves. Who we are and what we believe is causally dependent on these relations to other people and our relationship to our own histories.<\/p>\n This is a dynamic that\u2019s familiar to many (myself included!) who have spent time thinking through the complicated nature of autonomy. We like to believe that we are the sole author of our own lives. It\u2019s perhaps especially important to feel that we are the author of the beliefs that form our worldview, given the role that they play in making up our identity. But, I contend, the development of our worldview, and thus our identities, is highly dependent on our social environment.<\/p>\n When we consider the content that we are exposed to on social media, then, we should be wary in thinking that we will be able to see through the fake news, the alternative facts, and the emotionally manipulative content. Unfortunately, we\u2019re not hardwired to believe the true things that we are presented with and ignore the false things \u2013 we can\u2019t perceive truth directly. We should be cautious about exposing ourselves to epistemically dubious content under the illusion that we\u2019ll be able to shrug off the false and misleading content and decide to believe the truth.<\/p>\n There\u2019s another take-away too. As producers<\/em> of online content, we should be aware of how what we share contributes to the epistemic environment that shapes others\u2019 beliefs. Monitoring the sea of content online is a collective epistemic responsibility; we have to be vigilant to avoid the information pollution of our rapidly growing epistemic community. To be responsible epistemic agents we need to be picky listeners, but we should also be picky speakers \u2013 what we say online molds the worldviews of others too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tweet made it to the United States\u2019 front page of Reddit.com on July 21st 2019 from the subreddit, r\/GetMotivated. The tweet, originally from @michaelmiraflor, read, \u201cUnfollow models and influencers. […]","protected":false},"author":1319,"featured_media":719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Do we have the will to change what we believe? A new post on exposure to fake news by Hanna Gunn on Open for Debate","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[184,65,44],"custom_author":[190],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-for-debate","tag-belief","tag-fake-news","tag-social-media","custom_author-gunn-hanna-kiri"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8KPlM-bz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1369,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/on-choosing-reality-how-public-discussions-of-gender-recognition-go-wrong-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-part-1-arguing-about-what-gender-really-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":0},"title":"On \u201cChoosing Reality\u201d: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It: Part 1 Arguing About What Gender Really Is","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"February 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Content advice: transphobia. On 10th October 2018, a full page-advert ran in the Metro, London\u2019s free commuter newspaper. The topic of the advert was an imminently closing government consultation on the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the legislation governing changes of legal gender for trans people in England and Wales. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2022\/02\/Gender-Recognition-Act-715x431-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2022\/02\/Gender-Recognition-Act-715x431-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2022\/02\/Gender-Recognition-Act-715x431-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2022\/02\/Gender-Recognition-Act-715x431-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1756,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/i-hate-cyclists\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":1},"title":"\u201cI hate cyclists!\u201d","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"August 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"True story: a friend who works for the NHS had to attend mandatory RESPECT training. The workshop convenor started the day with ice breakers, everyone was invited to say what they liked and disliked. He received answers like teapots, cheese and so on before confessing, \u201cI hate cyclists!\u201d He elaborated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2023\/08\/cyclists.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2023\/08\/cyclists.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2023\/08\/cyclists.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2023\/08\/cyclists.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":852,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/political-debate-in-the-digital-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":2},"title":"Political Debate in the Digital Age","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"February 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In an ideal democratic world, all citizens are invited to debate political necessities and possibilities to the best of their knowledge and to forge their country\u2019s future in this way. In an ideal democratic world, political debate is, in other words, both inclusive and evidence-led. In a dystopian world, by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Social media links","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/02\/nordwood-themes-cNXqmO0Z24U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1497,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/social-media-a-viral-promoter-of-social-ills\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":3},"title":"Social media: a viral promoter of social ills?","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Public discourse is the currency in which we exchange our attitudes and beliefs. Social media has proven a double-edged sword with respect to this exchange. On the one hand, it has enabled debate and contact between citizens on a scale previously unimaginable. On the other, this ability to exchange ideas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1064,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/is-jk-rowling-transphobic\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":4},"title":"Is JK Rowling transphobic?","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"November 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Is JK Rowling transphobic? According to many transgender activists and their supporters, including Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne she is. The LGBTQ+ organisation GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has said that the author \u201ccontinues to align herself with an ideology which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Open for Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Open for Debate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/category\/open-for-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/533\/2020\/11\/BWTrans_Women_are_Real_Women_39819062561-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":525,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/openfordebate\/changing-minds-through-argumentation-black-pete-as-a-case-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":717,"position":5},"title":"Changing minds through argumentation: Black Pete as a case study","author":"Alessandra Tanesini","date":"October 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Views on the efficacy of argumentation to change minds in public discourse vary widely. On the one hand, there is a long-standing tradition that emphasizes the significance of argumentation and deliberation for public and civic life (Mill, Habermas etc.), in particular in resolving disagreements and leading to consensus. 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