Civic Studies » epistemic networks http://civicstudies.org An intellectual community of researchers and practitioners dedicated to building the emerging field of civic studies Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:58:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.41 important findings about the persuasive power of facts https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33770 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33770#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2025 19:51:19 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33770 Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2025/03/20/important-findings-about-the-persuasive-power-of-facts/feed/ 0 Cuttings: Ninety-Nine Essays About Happiness https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33215 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33215#comments Wed, 08 Jan 2025 16:33:23 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33215 Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2025/01/08/cuttings-ninety-nine-essays-about-happiness/feed/ 0 on defining movements and categorizing people: the case of 68ers https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33302 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33302#comments Mon, 06 Jan 2025 18:43:42 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=33302 Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2025/01/06/on-defining-movements-and-categorizing-people-the-case-of-68ers/feed/ 0 we treat facts and values alike when we reason https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32758 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32758#comments Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:04:53 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32758 Years ago,  Justin McBrayer found this sign hanging in his son’s second-grade classroom: Opinion: What someone thinks, feels, or believes. Fact: Something that is true about a subject and can be tested or proven. This distinction is embedded in significant aspects of our culture and society. For example, science aspires to be about facts, not opinions. […]

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Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2024/10/16/we-treat-facts-and-values-alike-when-we-reason/feed/ 0 a collective model of the ethics of AI in higher education https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32435 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32435#comments Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:11:20 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=32435 Hannah Cox, James Fisher, and I have published a short piece in an outlet called eCampus News. The whole text is here, and I’ll paste the beginning here: AI is difficult to understand, and its future is even harder to predict. Whenever we face complex and uncertain change, we need mental models to make preliminary […]

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Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2024/08/29/a-collective-model-of-the-ethics-of-ai-in-higher-education/feed/ 0 People are not Points in Space https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31652 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31652#comments Thu, 23 May 2024 17:04:22 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31652 Newly published: Levine, P. (2024). People are not Points in Space: Network Models of Beliefs and Discussions. Critical Review, 1–27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2024.2344994 (Or a free pre-print version) Abstract: Metaphors of positions, spectrums, perspectives, viewpoints, and polarization reflect the same model, which treats beliefs—and the people who hold them—as points in space. This model is deeply rooted […]

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Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2024/05/23/people-are-not-points-in-space-2/feed/ 0 An Association as a Belief Network and Social Network https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31539 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31539#comments Tue, 07 May 2024 20:24:51 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31539 This is a paper that I presented at the Midwest Political Science Association on April 6, 2024. I hope to reproduce this study with another organization before publishing the results as a comparison. I am open to investigating groups that you may be involved with–a Rotary Club like the one in this study, a religious […]

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Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2024/05/07/an-association-as-a-belief-network-and-social-network-2/feed/ 0 An Association as a Belief Network and Social Network https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31374 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31374#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:47:24 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=31374 I will present a paper entitled “An Association as a Belief Network and Social Network” at next week’s Midwestern Political Science Association meeting (remotely). This is the paper. Abstract: A social network is composed of individuals who may have various relationships with one another. Each member of such a network may hold relevant beliefs and […]

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Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2024/03/29/an-association-as-a-belief-network-and-social-network/feed/ 0 people are not points in space https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30755 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30755#comments Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:52:56 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30755 Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2023/11/27/people-are-not-points-in-space/feed/ 0 can AI help governments and corporations identify political opponents? https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30332 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30332#comments Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:11:16 +0000 https://peterlevine.ws/?p=30332 Continue reading →]]> http://civicstudies.org/2023/10/04/can-ai-help-governments-and-corporations-identify-political-opponents/feed/ 0