Complexity as Epistemic Oppression: Writing People with Intellectual Disabilities Back into Philosophical Conversations

Abstract

Formal Language In this essay, I reflect on the systematic exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities from philosophy even as their personhood is subject to ongoing philosophical debates. Theorizing this disenfranchisement as a form of epistemic oppression, I consider it in the context of the invalidation of disabled perspectives more broadly and characteristics of knowledge-production that confer credibility in philosophy. I end with a call for transformation through the framework of disability justice. I include an Easy Read summary, a plain language companion, and discussion questions, which restate my argument in simplified language and invite dialogue, demonstrating how philosophy might resist epistemic gatekeeping and imagine knowledge-production otherwise. Plain Language This essay is about philosophy and intellectual disability (ID). People with ID do not get to do philosophy very much. Some reasons they are left out are: – Disabled people are not believed when they talk about their lives. – The way we write in philosophy makes it hard for people with ID to join. I think we should change how we do philosophy. I wrote a summary that is easy to read. I wrote questions to talk about together. I want to think about how to do philosophy better. Easy Read Summary Philosophers are thinkers. They think about how the world is and how it should be. They think about intellectual disability (ID). Some thinkers say people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are worth less than other people. Most people with intellectual disabilities (ID) do not get to say what they think. We can change how we think by including people with intellectual disabilities (ID). We can believe what people with intellectual disabilities (ID) say about their lives. We can write and speak in simple ways. We can give people help thinking and making decisions. We can include people who do not speak or write. We can think as a community.