Testimony
The first kind of social-epistemic scenario is very common. An individual seeks to determine the truth-value of proposition p by soliciting the opinion(s) of others.
She might direct her question to one of her personal confidants, or consult what is in print or available online. Having received responses to her queries, she weighs what has been said to help her assess the truth of the proposition in question.
This is commonly referred to as “testimony-based” belief. The selected informant may still be a single individual. But appealing to another individual for testimony already locates the example as within the domain of social epistemology.
The main discussion here is framed in terms of justification rather than knowledge. The standard question is: Under what circumstances is a hearer justified in trusting an assertion made by a stranger, or by a consultant or speaker of any variety?
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