14th WFAP Graduate Conference

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Filtering Truth

A Graduate Conference on Epistemic Bubbles, Echo Chambers and the Spread of Misinformation

Topic
This year’s graduate conference is devoted to the increasingly relevant phenomena of socio-epistemic structures in which the access to relevant sources of information is “filtered”, i.e., systematically modified, so as to channel certain contents to the exclusion of others. As a result, the epistemic attitudes of participants in such structures and their conferral of epistemic credentials on others are manipulated. Epistemic bubbles and echo-chambers are varieties of such socio-epistemic structures. Philosophical reflection on the topic aims to conceptualize information filters and related phenomena in order to explore their normative dimensions. 

We aim to bring together early career and advanced researchers in order to discuss questions such as: What differentiates echo chambers from epistemic bubbles? Are epistemic bubbles inherently bad? How does one “pop” an epistemic bubble or break out of an echo-chamber? How do epistemic bubbles and echo chambers interact with other pernicious misinformation phenomena (e.g. fake-news, post-truth attitudes, bullshitting, conspiracy theories, etc.). What role can and should epistemic experts play in navigating this? What roles do epistemic virtues and vices play?

Dates
July 3-5, 2025

Keynotes
Benjamin Elzinga (Georgetown University)
Giulia Napolitano (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Keith Harris (University of Vienna)
Megan Fritts (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

Venue
Lecture Hall 3D, Neues Instititutsgebäude (NIG), University of Vienna
1010 Vienna, Universitätsstrasse 7, 3rd floor

The conference will be held in a hybrid format at the University of Vienna. Anyone who wants is welcome to join in person.

Funding:
This event is supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) under the Clusters of Excellence programme (10.55776/COE3); the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna; the Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie (GAP); the ÖH Österreich (SoPro-Number: 58/SOSE 2025); the ÖH Uni Wien (SoPro-Number: 2703/25/01); and the ÖH IG Phil.

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