Open access and epistemology

"The trade-off here is a question of the nature of knowledge itself: under what conditions or circumstances does information count as knowledge? When it proves most useful, or when there is a consensus on its validity? What kind of consensus is necessary, a few experts or many diverse perspectives? Does democratizing information sacrifice quality for quantity? But perhaps one of the most salient questions concerning the structure of the academic publication industry is whether there is a true dichotomy at work – democratic or aristocratic certification of knowledge – or whether there is some continuum along which information is judged to be knowledge and within which a balance between the two modes of quality control can be struck."