Paper short abstract:

In this paper I argue that (1) Hermeneutical Marginalization is a significant epistemic and moral issue in knowledge production and that (2) Participatory Methodologies offer the potential for knowledge production processes that does not produce or reproduce Hermeneutical Marginalization.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on the concept Hermeneutical Marginalisation from the field of Social Epistemology it is argued in this paper that (1) Hermeneutical Marginalization is a significant epistemic and moral issue in knowledge production and that (2) Participatory Methodologies offer the potential for knowledge production processes that do not produce or reproduce Hermeneutical Marginalization. Miranda Fricker conceives of Hermeneutical Marginalization as an asymmetrical ability to affect the hermeneutical resources needed for knowing. This occurs due to disadvantaged individuals or groups unequal participation in knowledge production processes, which in turn renders the knowledge biased as it is unduly influenced by the more hermeneutically powerful. Participatory Methodologies offer the possibility of knowledge production processes in which the hermeneutically less powerful can participate on more equal terms. This paper is divided into 5 sections, the first of which is an introduction in which the arguments made are positioned in relation to the field. In the second section Hermeneutical Marginalization is argued to be a significant moral problem as it renders the knowledge of disadvantaged groups and individuals suppressed. Section three is dedicated to the development of three 'principles of equal participation' that is necessary for Participatory Methodologies to not produce or reproduce Hermeneutical Marginalization. In section four the limitations of the two arguments is discussed, particularly in relation to the ideal of Epistemic Justice. The last section of the paper is dedicated to conclusions and thoughts on further considerations at the intersection of Participatory Methodologies, Social Epistemology and Ethics.