z-logo
open-access-imgOpen Access
Epistemic Injustice in Political Discourses? The Problematic Concept of Authority in Langton’s Account of Pornography.
Author(s) -
Paolo Parlanti
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
las torres de lucca
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 2255-3827
DOI - 10.5209/ltdl.76465
Subject(s) - injustice , politics , epistemology , sociology , sensibility , power (physics) , harm , pornography , value (mathematics) , proscription , psychology , social psychology , philosophy , political science , psychoanalysis , law , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning , computer science
Through her silencing thesis, Langton has contributed to the study of epistemic injustice by highlighting a possible cause of such a phenomenon: She asserts that the pornographic representation of (straight) sexual relationships affects the felicity conditions of speech uttered by women, so this speech is not understood as an illocution by men. This fact arguably undermines women’s credibility, since their testimony is not even registered in men’s testimonial sensibility. However, this thesis entails problematic consequences from at least two standpoints. From a theoretical perspective, it enacts a circularity when it comes to the empirical individuation of the subordinative effects of pornography. I will point out that this problem arises from Langton’s substantive conception of power, i.e. from her notion of authority as an attribute which can be ascribed to preexisting subjects. From a political perspective, such conception of power allows Langton to performatively rank women as credible when testifying sexual violence, but it also leads her to silencing alternative political strategies, e.g. the ones proposed by Butler. Hence, I propose to consider this form of silencing as a specific kind of epistemic injustice, one that neutralises the performative value of political discourses.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.
Having issues? You can contact us here