Arpita Dey
Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, Meghalaya
E-mail: adey46153@gmail.com
Issue: Volume 2 No. 2 (June 2026) Anubodhan
Received: 20 June 2026 / Accepted: 28 June 2026 / Published: 30 June 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n2.2026.077
Abstract
Epistemic means ‘relating to knowledge’. Knowledge is the central key point in flourishing not only our personal well-being but also in the advancement of society. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to recognize the ability to be treated equally as a knower as an important aspect of social and political philosophy. Unfair and unjust communicative structures, institutions, and practices have the potential to reproduce and further exacerbate existing socio-economic inequalities and injustices. Epistemic Injustice is a concept given by Miranda Fricker, which occurs when individuals are unfairly evaluated as knowers due to systematic prejudices and unethical bias that the hearer has towards the speaker. Epistemic Injustice is divided mainly into two types: Testimonial Injustice and Hermeneutical Injustice. The term ‘Epistemicide’, on the other hand, coined by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, encapsulates the systematic destruction of diverse knowledge systems and ways of knowing, particularly those that are non-Western or indigenous in nature. It is a form of cultural and intellectual domination that serves to erase or undermine the legitimacy of diverse modes of knowledge production. It is a deliberate act of violence against non-Western ways of knowing, which stands as a significant challenge to the plurality and richness of a global knowledge landscape. In this paper, I would like to focus on the framework of these two concepts and how they are both connected on a single spectrum and how simple personal biases and prejudices can lead to systemic annihilation of certain institutions. I would also like to mainly assess the historical roots and significant effects of epistemicide on knowledge systems around the world.
Keywords: Epistemic Injustice, Epistemicide, Prejudice, Knowledge Systems.
How to cite: Dey, A. (2026). From Silencing to Erasure: Understanding Epistemic Injustice and Epistemicide. Anubodhan, 2(2), 184–190. https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n2.2026.077