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Coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the term epistemocracy designates a utopian type of society and government in which people of rank, including those holding political office, are those who possess epistemic humility—such persons are termed epistemocrats.[1]
The French writer Michel de Montaigne was a modern epistemocrat.[1]
Unfortunately, it is difficult to assert authority on the basis of one's uncertainty.[1] Since society demands knowledge, leaders who are assertive, even if they are incorrect, still gather people together.[1] As Charles Darwin noted, ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2007). "Epistemocracy, a Dream". The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Random House. pp. 190-192. ISBN 978-1400063512.
- ^ Darwin, Charles (1871). "Introduction". The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. "It has often and confidently been asserted, that man's origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."
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