There are rational and irrational ways to form beliefs. Believing that a vaccine is effective on the basis of statistically sound experiments is a rational way to form a belief. Believing that a vaccine is effective on the basis of a mere guess or dream is irrational. What is it that differentiates the rational from the irrational ways of forming beliefs? A promenant answer that lies in the background of much philosophical work is that rational beliefs are formed in accordance with certain norms. My research explores the nature and structure of epistemic norms, as well as the plausibility of some specific proposed norms. Much of my previous work focused on one such norm that is premised on the idea that some facts call for explanation.

1. Book: Dan Baras, Calling for Explanation (Oxford University Press, 2022)
2. Podcast episode: ‘Do Some Facts Call out for Explanation?’, Research Bites: the podcast of the Martin Buber Society of Fellows (2021).
3. Dan Baras, ‘Searching for Epistemic Norms that Matter’, Analysis (2025)