Do The Oppressed Really Know Best?

Spencer Case

Editors Note: This article was originally published on Arc and is written by NAS member Spencer Case.

Many intellectuals and activists believe that oppressed groups have special knowledge in virtue of their “lived experience” of oppression. According to this view, outsiders suffer an epistemic deficiency that they will only be able to remedy if they come to see and feel as the oppressed do. Until then, the oppressed deserve deference on a range of important issues.

A new effort of the British government reported in the Daily Telegraph appears to be guided by this theory. White male professors are to be paired with “reverse mentors” — younger, non-white female academics — in order to help the elderly mentees confront their biases. Since the junior mentors have less experience as scholars, their suitability as mentors must stem from their identities as marginalized individuals.

Despite the prevalence of this view, I’ve found no compelling evidence that one’s “lived experience” generally contributes much in the way of knowledge about public issues. Nor that marginalization provides grounds for intellectual deference.

Read the full article here >>


Image: stormtrooper star wars lego by aitoff // CC BY

  • Share

Most Commented

September 6, 2024

1.

Professor Alleges "Widespread" Discriminatory Hiring Coverup at University of Washington

Audio acquired by the National Association of Scholars describes allegations of coverup race-based hiring coverup at the University of Washington...

October 29, 2024

2.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

September 25, 2024

3.

NAS Statement on University of Pennsylvania Sanction of Amy Wax

The National Association of Scholars is outraged—but not surprised—by Penn's decision to penalize Wax for exercising her academic freedom. ...

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....