Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 84:139-160 (2018)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Our collective enthusiasm for empathy reflects a sense that it is deeply valuable. I show that empathy bears a complex and surprisingly problematic relation to another social epistemic phenomenon that we have reason to value, namely testimonial trust. My discussion focuses on empathy with and trust in people who are members of one or more oppressed groups. Empathy for oppressed people can be a powerful tool for engendering a certain form of testimonial trust, because there is a tight connection between empathy and a approval of another's outlook. I then argue that the qualities of empathy that make it such a powerful tool for bridging differences and building trust also have a problematic upshot: they make it the case that reliance on empathy will sometimes have a distorting effect upon the ways we extend testimonial trust.
|
Keywords | empathy testimony oppression testimonial injustice imagination standpoint epistemology |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1017/s1358246118000589 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Rationality and the Human Brain.Antonio Damasio - 1994 - New York: Putnam 352.
White Ignorance.Charles Mills - 2007 - In Shannon Sullivan & Nancy Tuana (eds.), Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance. Albany, NY: State Univ of New York Pr. pp. 11-38.
Introduction: Standpoint Theory as a Site of Political, Philosophic, and Scientific Debate.Sandra Harding - 2004 - In Sandra G. Harding (ed.), The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies. Routledge. pp. 1--15.
View all 6 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Empathetic Understanding and Deliberative Democracy.Michael Hannon - 2020 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 101 (3):591-611.
Harms and Wrongs in Epistemic Practice.Simon Barker, Charlie Crerar & Trystan S. Goetze - 2018 - Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 84:1-21.
Transformative Experiences, Rational Decisions and Shark Attacks.Marc-Kevin Daoust - forthcoming - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy.
Our Epistemic Duties in Scenarios of Vaccine Mistrust.M. Inés Corbalán & Giulia Terzian - 2021 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 29 (4):613-640.
Similar books and articles
Testimonial Justification: The Parity Argument.Frederick F. Schmitt - 2002 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 33 (2):385-406.
Virtue Epistemology, Testimony, and Trust.Benjamin W. McCraw - 2014 - Logos and Episteme 5 (1):95-102.
A Defense of Reductionism About Testimonial Justification of Beliefs.Tomoji Shogenji - 2006 - Noûs 40 (2):331–346.
Can Trust Itself Ground a Reason to Believe the Trusted?Edward Hinchman - 2012 - Abstracta 6 (S6):47-83.
An Account of the Justification of Testimonial Beliefs: A Reliabilist Approach.David Eng - 2000 - Dissertation, The Ohio State University
Mice in the Sink: On the Expression of Empathy In Animals.Jessica Pierce - 2008 - Environmental Philosophy 5 (1):75-96.
Social Media, Trust, and the Epistemology of Prejudice.Karen Frost-Arnold - 2016 - Social Epistemology 30 (5-6):513-531.
Perfectioning Trust, Reinforcing Testimony.G. I. L. Francisco Javier - 2008 - Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 23 (1):73-76.
Perfectioning Trust, Reinforcing Testimony.Francisco Javier Gil - 2008 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 23 (1):73-76.
“On the Risks of Resting Assured: An Assurance Theory of Trust”.Edward Hinchman - 2017 - In Paul Faulkner & Thomas W. Simpson (eds.), The Philosophy of Trust. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mice in the Sink: On the Expression of Empathy In Animals.Jessica Pierce - 2008 - Environmental Philosophy 5 (1):75-96.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2018-11-14
Total views
92 ( #125,270 of 2,498,558 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
19 ( #44,572 of 2,498,558 )
2018-11-14
Total views
92 ( #125,270 of 2,498,558 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
19 ( #44,572 of 2,498,558 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads