Norms of Inquiry Conversations: An Essay

This chapter explores the epistemic aspects of conversations, particularly Conversational Inquiries. It questions whether the epistemic norms of assertions and beliefs are the only ones that influence conversational participants and proposes that there are other epistemic norms that operate during these interactions. I argue that, when considering the common goal of the participants, many conversations could be seen as cooperative inquiries with the purpose of producing epistemic goods. Examples of such conversations include understanding disagreements, epistemic deliberations and learning from another person. Finally, I argue for a non-idealized approach to the epistemology of conversations, taking into account the social context and identities of participants to assess the validity of participation in conversations.