Educational Epistemic Injustice

Essence Ujah

University of Innsbruck

This paper introduces a broader concept of epistemic injustice called Educational Epistemic Injustice (EEI), that addresses the wrong done to someone not just in their capacity as knowers, but also in their attempts to become knowers. Existing accounts of epistemic injustice have been limited to wrongs done to someone in their capacity as a knower mainly from the perspective of discriminatory injustice, particularly in relation to propositional knowledge. This excludes a crucial stage in the epistemic process, which is the stage that builds one into becoming a knower in the first place. I discuss two forms of EEI, each of which occurs at a different stage: formational injustice and post-formational injustice.  Formational injustice occurs when one is wronged by denying them resources that help them to become knowers. This leads to post-formational injustice which manifests as epistemic malformation and epistemic discrimination.  I argue that, epistemic injustice is not just a result of prejudice but also of systemic failures that deny individuals the basic resources to become knowers. Through my discussion of EEI, I present an account of epistemic injustice that encompasses both a distributive and discriminatory injustice that is not just limited to propositional knowledge (knowledge-that) but includes practical knowledge (knowledge-how). The task of my discussion of EEI is to provide a well-grounded account of epistemic injustice that moves beyond interpersonal exchanges to the conditions that build an individual’s epistemic agency.

Keywords: Epistemic injustice, formational, epistemic malformation, epistemic discrimination, discriminatory injustice, distributive injustice.

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