Thanks, Joe.

I think this is very much at the center of the broad TOK vision and mission. I appreciate Nichol's view here and I ask us as experts to reflect on our role in this state of affairs. Nichols is surely correct that the internet/social media changed the rules. Indeed, that is one of the principle reasons the Blue Church struggled. It was built on one kind of information processing-communication landscape and then a new one emerged and that changed the rules of everything, which made it obsolete. As such, Red Religious factions are popping up everywhere. Finding the right Red Religion is key.

Looking at this from a TOK and in particular a ToK System vantage point means we also must point the finger at the experts and the academy and recall Christian Smith's article that was the primary entry point for the first TOK conference<https://www.chronicle.com/article/Higher-Education-Is-Drowning/242195>. As Smith makes clear, the academy is drowning in bullshit and exists in a state of fragmented pluralism.

This is why the search for a foundational/core sense making system is so crucial. A coherent theory of scientific knowledge that places mind and the social sciences in consilient alignment with physics and biology is needed to get the academy organized so that the experts can stand on much clearer ground in response to the wave of chaos generated by the digital.

Best,
G

From: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Joseph Michalski
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2020 8:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: "Tribal Epistemology"

Dear Colleagues:


I happened upon this interview with Tom Nichols, who wrote a book The Death of Expertise, that I wish I'd written. In the interview below, Nichols offers some insightful observations that would cohere with much of what we have been saying in our online discussions and with Gregg's general framing of the meta-problems we are facing, although Nichols doesn't address that issue in the broader terms that Gregg uses (e.g., Blue church and Red church). That said, I especially liked the discussion that starts at around 9:55 (just after some great comments about the power of social media) with a question about "tribal epistemology". If you have 3 minutes, have a listen perhaps to that segment of the interview:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V50HMNB4qX4<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DV50HMNB4qX4&d=DwMF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=wjF8cZoiFchamTuxBdDEmw&m=ay5G5nQZIMGvcfTyCPZug_h1CgeSJwCrWb5sxMjqJqY&s=XCssvUWofICYrJ6DpO2AbGvJqpDJ7BuneXY3jFQQ_TU&e=>



Dr. Joseph H. Michalski

Professor, Department of Sociology

King's University College at Western University

266 Epworth Avenue, DL-201

London, Ontario, Canada  N6A 2M3

Tel: (519) 433-3491

Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

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