The Duty to Listen

Philosophical debates on free expression often emphasize the rights and duties of speakers. In this article, Hrishikesh Joshi shifts focus to the responsibilities of listeners. Drawing on John Stuart Mill’s arguments for free expression and the “interactionist” view of reason developed by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, Joshi argues that our shared epistemic resources—the “epistemic commons”—depend as much on critical listening as on speaking. He defends an imperfect but substantial duty to listen: not simply to hear or accept claims, but to contest, refine, and give proper uptake to arguments. In doing so, listeners play a central role in maintaining and improving the quality of public reasoning.