Expression-Style Exclusion

Race and evaluation of philosophical skill: A virtue theoretical explanation of why people of color are so absent from philosophy

“…that I do invoke involves the assumption that there is some objective level of philosophical skill that individuals enshrine in their application materials even if the level of skill enshrined is in significant measure a result of how racial injustice affects their philosophical situation and shape. I take philosophical skill to involve not only components such as argumentative capacity and persuasive capacity, but also style of expression (Bayruns García, 2019). Style of expression is a feature of philosophical skill that plays a role in how professional philosophers evaluate philosophical skill.…”

“…These evaluations are enshrined in the letters of recommendation that tenure-line faculty submit on behalf of applicants to philosophy Ph.D. programs. Some have pointed out that widely held negative stereotypes of Black, Indigenous and Latinx persons can cause non-dominant-racial group members who use styles of expression associated with these racial groups to be taken as not credible or not as knowers (Bayruns García, 2019;Crerar, 2016;Dotson, 2011;Fricker, 2007;Mills, 2007;Munroe, 2016). As a consequence, the level of philosophical skill that a letter of recommendation writer conveys in his letter can depend on the expression style 5 that an applicant uses in classes, seminars and general philosophical discussion.…”

“…And I now appeal to understanding to illuminate how phenomena described in the epistemic injustice and epistemology of ignorance literature such as testimonial injustice and testimonial quieting can negatively affect admissions committee members' cognitive grasp of applicants' philosophical skill (Alcoff, 2007;L. Anderson, 2017;Bayruns García, 2019Davis, 2016Davis, , 2018Dotson, 2011;Fricker, 2007;Martín, In press;Mills, 2007;Pohlhaus, Jr, 2012;Saul, 2018;Woomer, 2019).…”

How Racial Injustice Undermines News Sources and News-Based Inferences

“…This parallels a similar focus in political philosophy because political philosophers have long focused on describing the conditions a society must meet to be properly evaluated as in an ideally just state (Locke 1988; Kant 1996; Rousseau 1997; Rawls 2001). Despite these long dominant foci both some epistemologists (Collins 1990; Alcoff 1999, 2007; Fricker 2007; Mills 2007; Dotson 2011; Pohlhaus 2012; Medina 2013 a ; Davis 2018; Bayruns García 2019) and some political philosophers (Sen 1992; Mills 1997; Nussbaum 2000; Khader 2008, 2019) have begun to turn away from focusing on ideal target states to focus on non-ideal states. These non-ideal political philosophers have turned to analyzing, explaining and offering prescriptions for non-ideal societal states such as injustice, oppression and wealth mal-distribution.…”

“…Racial injustice's negative epistemic effect on coverage-supported inference is just one of racial injustice's negative effects. Epistemologists have labeled some of these negative epistemic effects, white ignorance (Mills 2007), testimonial and hermeneutical injustice (Fricker 2007), testimonial quieting and smothering (Dotson 2011), epistemic appropriation (Davis 2018), expression-style exclusion (Bayruns-García 2019) and agential insensitivity (Woomer 2019). And racial injustice's negative effect on coverage-supported inference is only one way that racial injustice negatively epistemically affects news reporting and journalism and as a result this is an area where much more social epistemological work ought to be done.…”