The term “Street Epistemology” (SE) refers to a conversational technique introduced by Dr. Peter Boghossian, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Portland State University. The technique was described in Boghossian’s 2013 book titled A Manual for Creating Atheists.
Per Amazon, “A Manual for Creating Atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith–but for talking them out of it. Peter Boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.”
Jerry Coyne, Ph.D, author of Why Evolution is True, has this to say about the book and its methodology: “Up to now, most atheists have simply criticized religion in various ways, but the point is to dispel it. In A Manual for Creating Atheists, Peter Boghossian fills that gap, telling the reader how to become a ‘street epistemologist’ with the skills to attack religion at its weakest point: its reliance on faith rather than evidence. This book is essential for nonbelievers who want to do more than just carp about religion, but want to weaken its odious grasp on the world.”
From the SE website: The goal of street epistemology is to guide people into engaging their critical thinking skills and applying them to their own beliefs about the world. Street Epistemology is about teaching the most fundamental features of critical thought. It’s about helping people recognize the value of skepticism and the scientific method. It’s about illuminating the distinction between beliefs about the universe and the objective truth of the universe.
SE works best in one-on-one conversations where both participants can apply their full attention to what the other is trying to say. Although direct, real-world encounters are most efficient, people are also experimenting actively with other mediums such as video-chat and online text forums with some success.”
According to Boghossian, Street Epistemology “has no leaders, popes, chieftains, or dictators. It’s simply a method to help others live lives free of delusion.”
And although there is no official organizer of SE, Anthony Magnabosco is a pioneer in the movement and has an extensive YouTube channel documenting his encounters with total strangers during which he questions them about various beliefs—not just religious beliefs, but superstitions, karma, the supernatural, and other forms of what I call magical thinking.
Here are a couple of good samples of what a typical encounter looks like for Magnabosco:
The SE website https://streetepistemology.com/ offers all kinds of instructional material for those interested. For example, see the 40-page “Complete Street Epistemology Guide: How to Talk About Beliefs.” http://www.streetepistemology.com/resources
There are also SE groups on Facebook that exchange ideas and questions for each other.
Recently, SE was covered in a YouTube video made by the Bible Answer Man Network and published on Jan 26, 2018. Bible Answer Man opines that “blind atheistic materialism” makes it difficult for “atheist evangelists” to see that evidence of faith does exist, because “design presupposes a designer.” All you have to do is look at a feather and you will know this.
Sadly, the Bible Answer Man also assumes that Street Epistemologists are attempting to make Christians look foolish, but this is far from the case. In fact, SEs try very hard not to provoke defensiveness or the conversation is likely spoiled.
Max Mullen is a Street Epistemologist in training who became “inspired during the 2016 election season because I noticed how little people cared about truth—posting fake articles, biased information… they just didn’t care enough about the truth of the information. I want to motivate people to care about whether their beliefs are true. I have no interest in telling people they’re wrong. It’s not a disagreement. To me it’s more about teaching truth as a value.”
According to Mullen, “Religious beliefs are often seen as unquestionable sacred ideas and people who question those sacred ideas are often stigmatized in our society. But there is common ground among SEs and religious people because I believe they both care about what is true. It’s an opportunity to open up your mind to further inquiry. Religious belief fills a gap in our psychology but it does so in a way that stifles inquiry.”
Mullen concludes, “SE makes the assumption that there is an objective reality and the only way to know reality is through reason and evidence. Accept that you’re going to be stigmatized. It’s like being a deprogrammer except you’re not focusing on fringe cults… you have a broader goal of focusing on ideologies in general, religious and otherwise, and all forms of indoctrination.”
Anthony Magnabosco will be teaching a workshop at the upcoming American Atheist Convention in Oklahoma City.
American Atheist Convention Coming to OKC; Conference Details & Speaker Line-up
