Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

there any groups of people whose
Are
you typically do not give
claims
it inevitable that a claims-maker’s
Is
should affect our assessment of
identity
second form of epistemic injustice arises
A
a person’s knowledge of their lived
when
is invalidated, because of a lack
experience
shared concepts between them and the
of
culture or power in a society. This
dominant
them at a disadvantage in comprehending
puts
communicating their experience. We see
and
happening cross-culturally, when the
this
culture is the arbiter of what counts as
dominant
and what has legitimacy. Newcomers
knowledge
this culture may find their perspectives or
to
dismissed not only because of their
claims
which would be a form of prejudice,
identity,
because others simply have no idea what
but
are talking about. Power has a role to
they
certain types of lived experiences are
play;
more frequently than others. As
invalidated
practices of mathematics through
examples,
or through drawings with rice flour
song,
Chapter11), have been dismissed as not
(see
and oral histories have not been
mathematical;
the same credit as written histories (see
given
9). These are examples of knowledges
Chapter
do not meet each other as equals because
that
power asymmetries and a lack of shared
of
concepts.
exactly is the role of power in epistemic
What
In Chapter 7, II.1 we ask whether
justice?
is power. Perhaps a better question
knowledge
the extent to which power determines what
is
as knowledge, even to affirm or deny
counts
lived experiences of others. If someone
the
for example, to be able to speak to trees
claims,
horses, to invalidate their claim is also to
or
their experience of the world. A more
invalidate
and challenging example is given
compelling
explains that this sort of epistemic
Fricker
arises from a gap in shared concepts,
injustice
and tools of social interpretation.
vocabulary
you can imagine, this gap affects different
As
groups very differently, depending on
social
extent to which they are marginalized. The
the
of marginalized groups are less
experiences
to be understood or conceptualized—less
likely
to feature in films and television shows,
likely
example—perhaps even by the members of
for
groups themselves. The very structure of
these
knowledge can therefore be prejudicial.
collective
groups’ efforts at communicating may
These
seen as inadequate simply because their
be
of expressing is misunderstood. They are
style
because they cannot make sense of
disadvantaged
express an “experience which it is strongly in
or
interests to render intelligible” Fricker 2007).
their
May 2016, the IB set the following question
In
TOK candidates.“To what extent do the
for
that we use shape the conclusions that
concepts
reach?” Consider how this question applies
we
our judgments about the validity of claims
to
claims-makers; how much of our judgment
and
shaped by the concepts that we do and do not
is
with a claims-maker?
share
all of this, what are our individual
Given
towards epistemic justice,
responsibilities
you continue to explore knowledge in this
As
remember to continue reflecting critically
course,
the knowledge you encounter at school and
on
the world, the gaps left by your education and
in
and how these intersect with power
upbringing,
that may initially be invisible to you.
relations
chapters that follow will help you to make
The
relations visible and navigate knowledge
power
the world with agency. How will you
and
to know and live in the world?
choose
IV. Ethics
IV. Ethics
(a)
A central case of this sort of injustice is found in the
example of a woman who suers sexual harassment
legitimacy to? In what context, and why?
prior to the time when we had this critical concept,
(b)
so that she cannot properly comprehend her own
experience, let alone render it communicatively
intelligible to others.
the legitimacy of their claim?
IV.3.2 Validity
(Fricker 2007)
especially in cross-cultural contexts?
below, by Fricker.
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