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Epistemic Injustice
Epistemische Ungerechtigkeit
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:38:07
Abstract
Miranda Fricker's concept of epistemic injustice aims at injustices towards a person or a group that affect their status as knowers. We will read her book, as well as its reception. In the second half of the seminar, we will examine fields of application in science, medicine, politics, in digitalization processes, as well as in urban planning.
Objective
Students will become familiar with Fricker's notion of epistemic injustice and its two main species, testimonial and hermeneutic injustice. We examine the concept’s strengths and weaknesses as an analytical tool in diverse scientific practices. Students will apply the concept to a case study in their field of study or to a current issue.
Content
Not everyone is treated equally in their status as knowers. Some are granted less credibility than others because of their low social status. This happens for example when a person’s testimony is treated as less credible based solely on their skin color. Others are dismissed as stupid because they are less articulate when the reason for their articulation difficulties is not an individual inability but a gap in our collective self-understanding practices. For example, before the concept of sexual harassment was introduced, a woman had no conceptual resources to name the specific harms she was experiencing. These are two examples of what Miranda Fricker identifies as epistemic injustice in her 2007 book, Epistemic Injustice: Power & the Ethics of Knowing. Fricker calls the form of injustice in the first example a testimonial injustice and in the second a hermeneutical injustice. Fricker's influential book has been discussed for two decades, also critically. The concept of epistemic injustice is also broadly applicable across sciences and scientific practices. In the seminar we will ask for example: To what extent is the status of people as knowers affected when using AI and algorithms? How does one do epistemic justice to testimonies of people diagnosed with delusions? How does one enable self-determination for groups whose views are considered unscientific and thus do not fit dominant collective world- and self-interpreting practices?
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 40
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar | Epistemische Ungerechtigkeit |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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