To all philosophy enthusiasts!
Carleton University’s Department of Philosophy invites you to celebrate
WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY
November 18, 2022 | 4:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Carleton University, 2017 Dunton Tower
A discussion on epistemic justice, democratic deliberation, and public policy
Most western democracies have been, or continue to be, involved in colonialism. Yet colonial memory is often either severely distorted or lacking entirely – a situation that can be characterized as “colonial erasure.” I argue that colonial erasure produces and maintains inequalities in both epistemic and political power. Specifically, I argue that colonial erasure undermines the democratic process of deliberating on several issues of public policy that also matter for social justice in both its material and cultural dimensions — for example, reparations, history textbooks and curricula, statues and monuments, or holidays and festivals. I proceed in three steps. I first argue that, by obscuring the continuity between historical and contemporary injustice, colonial erasure creates epistemic injustice for minoritized groups like Afrodescendants and Indigenous peoples. I then argue that colonial erasure undermines political equality in contemporary societies by creating what I call a “meta-epistemic filter.” Finally, I argue that this situation of meta-epistemic filtering undermines political equality because it significantly hinders these minorities’ ability to engage in the democratic process of political participation on an equal basis.
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Guest speaker Amandine Catala, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQUAM)
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Reception with light refreshments provided
This event is also part of our Colloquium Series and hosted in partnership with Ethics and Public Affairs at Carleton University.