Addressing Epistemic Injustice in Mental Health

Addressing Epistemic Injustice in Mental Health
Author: Karen Newbigging
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2024-03-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 2832546587

Epistemic injustice was conceptualized by Fricker as a form of social injustice, which occurs when people’s authority ‘as a knower’ is ignored, dismissed, or marginalized. It is attracting increasing interest in the mental health field because of the asymmetries of power between people using mental health services and mental health professionals. People experiencing mental health distress are particularly vulnerable to epistemic injustice as a consequence of deeply embedded social stigma, negative stereotyping, and assumed irrationality. This is amplified by other forms of stereotyping or structural discrimination, including racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Consequently, individual testimonies may be discounted as both irrational and unreliable. Epistemic injustice also operates systemically reflecting social and demographic characteristics, such a race, gender, sexuality or disability, or age.

Epistemic Injustice

Epistemic Injustice
Author: Miranda Fricker
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2007-07-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191519308

In this exploration of new territory between ethics and epistemology, Miranda Fricker argues that there is a distinctively epistemic type of injustice, in which someone is wronged specifically in their capacity as a knower. Justice is one of the oldest and most central themes in philosophy, but in order to reveal the ethical dimension of our epistemic practices the focus must shift to injustice. Fricker adjusts the philosophical lens so that we see through to the negative space that is epistemic injustice. The book explores two different types of epistemic injustice, each driven by a form of prejudice, and from this exploration comes a positive account of two corrective ethical-intellectual virtues. The characterization of these phenomena casts light on many issues, such as social power, prejudice, virtue, and the genealogy of knowledge, and it proposes a virtue epistemological account of testimony. In this ground-breaking book, the entanglements of reason and social power are traced in a new way, to reveal the different forms of epistemic injustice and their place in the broad pattern of social injustice.

The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice

The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice
Author: Ian James Kidd
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 577
Release: 2017-03-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351814494

In the era of information and communication, issues of misinformation and miscommunication are more pressing than ever. Epistemic injustice - one of the most important and ground-breaking subjects to have emerged in philosophy in recent years - refers to those forms of unfair treatment that relate to issues of knowledge, understanding, and participation in communicative practices. The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject. The first collection of its kind, it comprises over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors, divided into five parts: Core Concepts Liberatory Epistemologies and Axes of Oppression Schools of Thought and Subfields within Epistemology Socio-political, Ethical, and Psychological Dimensions of Knowing Case Studies of Epistemic Injustice. As well as fundamental topics such as testimonial and hermeneutic injustice and epistemic trust, the Handbook includes chapters on important issues such as social and virtue epistemology, objectivity and objectification, implicit bias, and gender and race. Also included are chapters on areas in applied ethics and philosophy, such as law, education, and healthcare. The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice is essential reading for students and researchers in ethics, epistemology, political philosophy, feminist theory, and philosophy of race. It will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, sociology, education and law.

Overcoming Epistemic Injustice

Overcoming Epistemic Injustice
Author: Benjamin R. Sherman
Publisher: Collective Studies in Knowledge and Society
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: Fairness
ISBN: 9781786607058

This volume draws together cutting edge research from the social sciences to find ways of overcoming the unconscious prejusice that is present in our everyday decisions, a phenomenon coined by the philosopher Miranda Fricker as 'epistemic injustice'.

Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare

Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare
Author: Sasha Lee Smit
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN:

This dissertation demonstrates that philosophical analysis has real-world applications. Although written in the field of political epistemology, the dissertation engages with knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR) in artificial intelligence (AI) in so far as it focuses on identifying and eliminating obstacles in knowledge acquisition, representation, and communication. The dissertation focuses specifically on the concept of epistemic injustice. The concept, as coined by Miranda Fricker, refers to a kind of injustice that causes a knower to be undermined in their capacity to give, receive, or understand knowledge. Epistemic injustice is critically discussed in the dissertation and also expanded upon, seeing as Fricker does not address all forms of epistemic injustice in all contexts within which this kind of injustice may arise. I analyse the concept of epistemic injustice within the specific context of structural inequalities in healthcare in South Africa. To do this, I identify and analyse conceptions of epistemic injustice that can be applied in this context, in the forms of hermeneutic, contributory and documental injustice. I then consider the recent Life Esidimeni tragedy in South African mental healthcare in the context of these kinds of injustice. Lastly, I present an analysis of virtue epistemology, and construct a virtue of epistemic justice that is richer than Fricker℗þs, as a measure to combat epistemic injustice in the context of healthcare in South Africa.

Moral Equality, Bioethics, and the Child

Moral Equality, Bioethics, and the Child
Author: Claudia Wiesemann
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2016-08-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3319324020

Presenting real life cases from clinical practice, this book claims that children can be conceived of as moral equals without ignoring the fact that they still are children and in need of strong family relationships. Drawing upon recent advances in childhood studies and its key feature, the ‘agentic child’, it uncovers the ideology of adultism which has seeped into much what has been written about childhood ethics. However, this book also critically examines those positions that do accord moral equality to children but on grounds not strong enough to support their claim. It lays the groundwork for a theory of moral equality by assessing the concepts of parenthood, family, best interest, paternalism, and, above all, autonomy and trust which are so important in envisioning what we owe the child. It does not only show how children – like adults – should be considered moral agents from infancy but also how ethical theories addressing adults can significantly profit from recognizing this. The analysis takes into account contributions from European as well as American scholars and makes use of a wide range of ethical, psychological, cultural, and social-scientific research.

Overcoming Epistemic Injustice

Overcoming Epistemic Injustice
Author: Benjamin R. Sherman
Publisher: Collective Studies in Knowledg
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2019-07-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781786607065

This volume draws together cutting edge research from the social sciences to find ways of overcoming the unconscious prejudice that is present in our everyday decisions, a phenomenon coined by the philosopher Miranda Fricker as 'epistemic injustice'.

Social (In)Justice and Mental Health

Social (In)Justice and Mental Health
Author: Ruth S. Shim, M.D., M.P.H.
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2020-12-09
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1615373381

"Social (In)Justice and Mental Health introduces readers to the concept of social justice and role that social injustice plays in the identification, diagnosis, and management of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Unfair and unjust policies and practices, bolstered by deep-seated beliefs about the inferiority of some groups, has led to a small number of people having tremendous advantages, freedoms, and opportunities, while a growing number are denied those liberties and rights. The book provides a framework for thinking about why these inequities exist and persist and provides clinicians with a road map to address these inequalities as they relate to racism, the criminal justice system, and other systems and diagnoses. Social (In)Justice and Mental Health addresses the context in which mental health care is delivered, strategies for raising consciousness in the mental health profession, and ways to improve treatment while redressing injustice"--

Epistemic Justice and Epistemic Participation

Epistemic Justice and Epistemic Participation
Author: Kathryn C. S. Schmidt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2019
Genre: Electronic dissertations
ISBN:

I advance a new theory of epistemic injustice, with important implications for pursuing epistemic justice. This project develops a positive account of epistemic justice, broadens the scope of the phenomenon, and motivates new interventions. This dissertations works towards a better understanding of what it means to be an epistemic subject and to be treated as such.I argue that epistemic injustice can be understood through a lens of participation in inquiry, rather than using the received view that focuses on testimony. On my account, victims are marginalized when disrespected and devalued as potential participants in inquiry due to prejudice. This account broadens the domain of epistemic injustice, incorporating different instances of epistemic exclusion that do not involve testimony. This participatory account can better explain the core features of epistemic injustice and identifies mechanisms in subtypes of epistemic injustice. Preventing and remedying epistemic injustice requires creating inclusive communities that respect and foster participation in inquiry. I argue that the virtuous elements of inclusion are embodied in groups rather than individuals, and can successfully address the wrong of epistemic injustice. Successfully fostering inclusion will require an intersectional approach in order to address varied forms of epistemic injustice.My dissertation is a collection of five inter-related articles expanding the notion of epistemic injustice. In the first chapter, the article "What's unjust about testimonial injustice?" explores underlying notions of "justice" within the phenomenon of epistemic injustice. I argue that different philosophers rely upon different notions of justice (specifically David Coady and Miranda Fricker). In contrast to both of their views, I argue that epistemic injustice should be understood as a form of oppression. Next, I argue that there are at least two different ways to disrespect victims of epistemic injustice: by denying them recognition respect (their epistemic standing) or appraisal respect (their credibility). The article "Credibility and Recognition: Two Failures of Respect in Epistemic Injustice" makes up the second chapter. Chapter three, "Knowledge and Participation: Giving a Participatory Account of Epistemic Injustice" argues that epistemic subjects are wronged when de-valued as potential participants (by denying access, recognition, or appraisal).This participatory framework is better able to analyze the category of epistemic injustice compared to other approaches. I propose cultivating the virtue of inclusion (as a virtue of social groups) in the next chapter: "Inclusion: Addressing Epistemic Injustice with a Group Virtue". Inclusion (rather than open-mindedness, testimonial injustice, or trust) is the virtue that is best able to prevent and remedy instances of epistemic injustice. Using a case study of patients with fibromyalgia, I show that different types of epistemic injustice impact and reinforce one another. Those who experience epistemic injustice encounter it while also experiencing other overlapping oppressions. As a result, I argue we must pursue intersectional epistemic justice. The fifth and final chapter addresses this topic, in: "The Pain of Being Overlooked: A Case Study on Fibromyalgia and Intersectional Epistemic Justice".The existing literature on epistemic injustice has been overly narrow in focus, missing significant instances of epistemic wrongs. My project can help both ethicists and epistemologists formulate solutions to epistemic oppression by providing a more fully developed account of epistemic ideals. Methodologically, I draw from varied approaches including virtue ethics, social epistemology, feminist philosophy, and social psychology. This approach has direct implications not only for ethics research but also for teaching pedagogy and provides new avenues for preventing the epistemic marginalization of vulnerable individuals.

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling
Author: Liquaa Wazni
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2022
Genre:
ISBN:

People with psychotic disorders die earlier than expected due to physical illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Despite substantial evidence about managing physical health to improve quality of life and reduce morbidity and mortality, there is limited research from the perspectives of people living with psychotic disorders. Since discourses are attached to all areas of knowledge, I situated myself within the critical social paradigm to understand factors that subjugate voices of people with psychotic disorders in research, practices, and policies. I used postcolonial theory as a lens for my research to show power asymmetry that often oppresses and dominates patients based on exclusion. Postcolonial theory in general and Spivak's theory more specifically helped draw the parallel between systems of power such as colonization and patriarchy that silence the subaltern in the context of colonization and people with mental illness in psychiatry. Committing to Spivak's theory of subalternity for self-representation, I chose digital storytelling as a methodological approach for generating transformative knowledge that exposes forces that mediate health and illness. Digital storytelling has an epistemological commitment to self-representation and critical reflection through visual, audio, and other forms of expression that facilitate more accurate articulations of experiences. The overarching purpose of this thesis was to explore the process of digital storytelling with people with psychotic disorders as a means of expressing their voices and to understand how nurses and healthcare leaders engage with the digital stories and foresee the use of digital stories in healthcare practices and policies. Six short videos capturing personal stories of people with psychotic disorders about their physical health needs and concerns were produced. Digital stories are audio-visual vignettes of approximately 2-5 minutes in length, presenting first-person stories in conjunction with audiovisual material (photos, images, soundtracks, etc.). The digital stories were presented in 2 focus group sessions to understand their impact on nurses and nursing leaders (n=15). Findings from this research brought forth stories that spoke of deep struggles people with psychotic disorders experience in addressing their physical health concerns within the psychiatric system. Participants talked about their embodied experiences and invisibility in the healthcare system in their digital stories. They expressed that healthcare providers had paternalistic approaches when addressing their physical health problems and revealed how they compensated for their lack of power and loss of identity. Story makers embedded their experiences with notions of powerlessness and despair and the associated negative impact on significant aspects of their lives. By reflecting on the digital stories and placing the content of stories within the larger context of the psychiatric system and current practices, nurses were able to expose power relations and structures such as quantitative approaches to care, stigma, and the biomedical model of care that excluded the experiences of people with psychotic disorders in psychiatry. Meanwhile, reflecting on the stories exposed nurses' passive stance in challenging and resisting the dynamics that exclude patients' voices at every level of care. In this research, Spivak's theory helped highlight the thematic centrality of epistemic violence and the role of the digital stories in overcoming epistemic injustice and opening a line of communication with those in positions of power in psychiatry.