  Even though the primary focus has been on identifying and analyzing ethical issues affecting search engines, in closing it is worth reiterating a point made in the introductory section—viz., that search engine technology also has implications for some other kinds of philosophical issues. This is especially apparent in the area of epistemology, where some critics raise concerns related to our received notions of the nature and justification of knowledge claims, in an era of widespread use and dependence on search engines. For example, Hinman (2008, 75) argues that search engines “contribute significantly to the social construction of knowledge”—i.e., not only do they provide access to knowledge, but they also increasingly “play a crucial role in the constitution of knowledge itself.” An analysis of this claim, however, as well as other epistemological and (broader) philosophical aspects of search engines, is beyond the scope of the present entry.