Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts

Gerry Dunne; Alkis Kotsonis

Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts

Journal article

Gerry Dunne, Alkis Kotsonis
Episteme, 2024

Semantic Scholar DOI

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APA Click to copy
Dunne, G., & Kotsonis, A. (2024). Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts. Episteme.

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Dunne, Gerry, and Alkis Kotsonis. “Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts.” Episteme (2024).

MLA Click to copy
Dunne, Gerry, and Alkis Kotsonis. “Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts.” Episteme, 2024.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{gerry2024a,
  title = {Carving at the Joints: Distinguishing Epistemic Wrongs from Epistemic Harms in Epistemic Injustice Contexts},
  year = {2024},
  journal = {Episteme},
  author = {Dunne, Gerry and Kotsonis, Alkis}
}

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the relatively underexplored relationship between epistemic wrongs and epistemic harms in the context of epistemic injustice. Does the presence of one always imply the presence of the other? Or, is it possible to have one without the other? Here we aim to establish a prima facie case that epistemic wrongs do not always produce epistemic harms. We argue that the epistemic wrongness of an action should never be evaluated solely based on the action's consequences, viz. the epistemic and practical harms suffered by the wronged party. Instead – as we shall show – epistemic harms necessarily follow from epistemic wrongs. To conclude, we suggest ways in which extant accounts of epistemic wrongs and epistemic harms as they cash out in epistemic injustice contexts might be refined in light of our argument.

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