Epistemic Authority and Conscientious Belief

In Epistemic Authority: A Theory of Trust, Authority, and Autonomy in Belief 1 , Linda Zagzebski engages in a wide-reaching investigation of underexplored epistemic terrain.The work is timely, given the recent interest of contemporary epistemologists in testimony and trust, and she approaches the topic from a novel angle: the rationality of beliefs taken on the authority of others.This accessibly written book covers an extensive span of topics including trust, testimony, and authority, in addition to the intersection of these notions with the domains of emotion, morality, religion, communities, and disagreement.Given the breadth of topics in the book, I will not be able to address all the ideas worthy of discussion.I will concentrate on a few topics.I will first examine the notions that serve as the foundation for the book: rationality, conscientiousness, and trust.I then raise several questions concerning her account of epistemic authority.Finally, I advance a worry regarding the application of her account to the problem of disagreement.I.