Unjust Aspects of the Epistemic Marketplace: Idea Appropriation, Bullshit, and Epistemic Injustice

Abstract

Epistemic injustice happens when a subject is wronged in their “capacity as a knower.” This paper argues that speakers/writers and hearers/readers suffer epistemic injustice under two scenarios: idea appropriation and bullshitting. Epistemic injustice happens when a speaker or writer suffers idea appropriation, where they are deprived of the credit and benefits of their cognitive labor, or when epistemic agents consume bullshit that exploits their limited access to the institutional resources required to interrogate and resist it, treating them as a mere means to an end, e.g., when a politician bullshits voters to secure their vote at election time. These unsavory practices are incentivized by reputational boosts and other social goods with the risk of reputational damage if detected. This paper ends by reviewing how widespread epistemic injustice hampers the epistemic marketplace.