One form of epistemic injustice is what Miranda Fricker calls testimonial injustice: when a speaker’s (or writer’s) words are given less credibility than they deserve, because of some negative stereotype the audience (listener / reader) holds about the speaker or people like them.
Another form of epistemic injustice is what Fricker calls hermeneutical injustice: when someone’s ability to successfully communicate to others (or understand themselves) some important aspect of their experience is undermined, because of some negatibe stereotype the audience holds about them or people like them.
In this week’s homework assignment, I’m asking you to identify examples of these epistemic injustices in healthcare. But here, on the Discussion Board, let’s brainstorm in a more open-ended way. Can you describe for us some time in your life when you’ve experienced testimonial or hermeneutical injustice? It could relate to healthcare, but it doesn’t have to. Try to give us enough details that we can follow your story, and try to explain whether this was testimonial or hermeneutical injustice (or perhaps both).
