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Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613799232569344 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie |
| author2 | Roodt, Vasti |
| author_browse | Roodt, Vasti Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie |
| author_facet | Roodt, Vasti Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie |
| author_sort | Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132333 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:52.972Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132333 Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie Roodt, Vasti Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Applied Ethics. Virtue epistemology Polarization (Social sciences) Social media -- Influence UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis, I develop a relational understanding of open-mindedness for the purpose of evaluating epistemic behaviour and polarisation dynamics on social media. I argue that social media algorithms are not the cause of echo chambers and harmful polarisation, and that these should be understood through a situated understanding of the political and social environment in which polarisation arises and echo chambers form. Through a situated evaluation of the US and South African media environments, I show that social media has only reinforced echo chambers where they have already existed. I employ virtue epistemology as a normative epistemic framework to evaluate epistemic behaviour in echo chambers. Virtue epistemology is the philosophical subdomain in which epistemic behaviour is understood in relation to epistemic virtues: epistemic character traits that consist of a virtuous epistemic motivation and a reliable capacity to fulfil the end of that motivation. I argue that conventional virtue epistemology, understood as ideal epistemology, must be rejected in favour of liberatory virtue epistemology, understood as non-ideal epistemology. Conventional virtue epistemology fails to understand how the value of epistemic goods arises from the specific epistemic environment, and how the identity of epistemic agents affects their ability to engage in the behaviour required to fulfil the goal of epistemic virtue. This leaves it theoretically inadequate for evaluating the behaviour of real epistemic agents. I thus argue that epistemic virtue needs to be understood as relational, relying on an understanding of how epistemic value arises from the social and political relations between different individuals and communities in a society, and of epistemic agents as conditioned by these relations. Rejecting the conventional understanding of open-mindedness as a willingness to consider the merit of others’ beliefs, I argue for a relational understanding of open-mindedness, where relational open-mindedness is understood as a motivation to acquire relational epistemic goods – that is, an understanding of how perspectives are conditioned by societal relations – realised through relational engagement with epistemic agents. I additionally argue for a relational understanding of epistemic responsibility, which requires of epistemic agents to understand the value of epistemic goods for their societies and to dedicate their epistemic resources to acquiring those epistemic goods that are most valuable. I employ this model to argue that social media has reinforced relational closed-mindedness – understood as a lack of relational open-mindedness – in communities where this character trait was already prevalent. However, I show that social media has also offered unique spaces for connection across ideological boundaries that has facilitated the development of relational open-mindedness among communities where they were already predisposed to developing the virtue. Social media thus has the potential to foster relational open-mindedness. I conclude by identifying four different kinds of agents responsible for transforming social media epistemic environments: (1) social media platform developers, (2) social media influencers, (3) social media users, and (4) epistemological activists. I emphasise the necessity of an epistemological activism to alert social media users to their agency over social media platforms, allowing them to understand their responsibility to transform these environments, and supporting them to develop relational open-mindedness. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Masters 2025-06-04T07:23:07Z 2025-06-04T07:23:07Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132333 en Stellenbosch University 114 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Virtue epistemology Polarization (Social sciences) Social media -- Influence UCTD Van Veijeren, Nine-Marie Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title | Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title_full | Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title_fullStr | Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title_short | Relational open-mindedness: a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| title_sort | relational open mindedness a virtue epistemological consideration of political polarisation in social media |
| topic | Virtue epistemology Polarization (Social sciences) Social media -- Influence UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132333 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vanveijerenninemarie relationalopenmindednessavirtueepistemologicalconsiderationofpoliticalpolarisationinsocialmedia |