Conference on Gaslighting and Epistemic Injustice
\nClaremont McKenna College\,
\nSeptember 21-23\, 2017 \;
\nOver the past 10 years\, following the publication of Miranda Fricker&rsquo\;s groundbreaking book\, \;Epistemic Injustice: Power &\; the Ethics of Knowing\, philosophers have begun increasingly to attend to issues of epistemic injustice\, a phenomenon that occurs when individuals are wronged in their capacity as knowers. \; Epistemic injustice often arises in cases involving differing positions of social privilege\, where prejudice and power combine to undermine an individual&rsquo\;s own testimony. \;
\nIn this conference\, we aim to focus specifically on distinctive forms of epistemic injustice produced through lying\, misinformation\, manipulation\, and deceit. A paradigm example is the phenomenon known as &ldquo\;gaslighting.&rdquo\; \; In the 1944 film \;Gas Light\, Gregory Anton slowly and cruelly manipulates his wife Paula into thinking that she is going insane. \; Having deliberately caused the lights in their home to dim\, Gregory insists that Paula must be imagining it whenever the subject is raised. \; This depiction of Paula&rsquo\;s plight &ndash\; made especially poignant by a brilliant performance from Ingrid Bergman &ndash\; has given rise to the term &ldquo\;gaslighting\,&rdquo\; used to refer to one individual or individuals causing another to question their own perceptions\, beliefs\, \;and memories &ndash\; and even their own sanity &ndash\; through a series of manipulations\, deceptions\, and lies.
\nThe conference is organized by Amy Kind and Adrienne Martin on behalf of the Claremont McKenna College Department of Philosophy. \; We are grateful to the Dean of Faculty&rsquo\;s Office and the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies for their financial support.
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For questions\, please contact Amy Kind at akind@cmc.edu.