Collective wisdom : principles and mechanisms

Symposium organized by theInstitut du Monde Contemporain.

The symposium La sagesse collective : principes et mécanismes (Collective wisdom: principles and mechanisms) will explore the nature, causes and mechanisms of the emerging phenomenon whereby a group may be better able to solve problems, obtain more correct information or make more accurate predictions than any of its individual members, including the experts within the group. First and foremost, the debate should clarify the difference and links between the concepts of wisdom - an ancient, vague yet irreplaceable philosophical concept - and the narrower, more technical concepts of rationality and intelligence. The main aim of the symposium is then to understand the mechanisms that explain the cognitive superiority of certain groups over the individuals who make up that group. We will also look at well-known counter-examples to the idea of collective wisdom: the irrationality of crowds, the madness of the masses, democratic unreason.