Epistism, from episteme, the Greek word for "
knowledge," would signify the personal responsibility and ethical obligation to seek accurate, well-rounded
knowledge before forming opinions or making statements. It captures the duty to be informed by actively researching and questioning claims, especially when it comes to topics that affect others or carry societal weight.
An epistist would be someone who believes that every
person has a moral obligation to pursue verified knowledge, especially when encountering potentially misleading or manipulative information. This (most importantly) includes being critical of sources like the
GOP or DNC, as their narratives can often be biased or tailored to fit a specific agenda.
P1: "I heard that hormone blockers cause irreparable harm to your kids body, and almost every trans kid is doing it!"
P2: "... can you have some epistism? Instead of just repeating that, why
don’t you actually look up the data and see if it’s true?"
P1: "But <PoliticianHere> said it!
P2: "So you
DON'T want to do research?"
P1: "That's not what I-"
P2: "Then do some research."
P1: "Ok ok, fine."
*20-30 minutes later*
P1: "Hey, uh-"
P2: :"Well?"
P1: "Yeah, so maybe I was wrong.
Sorry about saying that."
P2: "Well, now you
don't have to sound like a complete
moron."
P1: "Yeah."