Community as the basis for epistemology

From Contexts of Optimal Growth in Childhood by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Every individual must question the values and norms of the community, and there are times when one must stand up in opposition to the group, whatever the personal costs. But even our precious individuality is the result of interacting with others in a mutually binding relationship. C.S. Pierce and Karl Popper saw community as the basis for epistemology: our sense of what is real and what is true comes from matching our individual expreience with the experiences of others; Hannah Arendt believed we create our selves through action in the "public sphere," with its unique opportunities for learning about ourselves from the feedback given by impartial others.

See What Other People Say May Change What You See by Sandra Blakeslee for related observations.