Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0008-7287-0634
Graduation Year
2025
Date of Submission
12-2024
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy
Reader 1
Amy Kind
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2024 Maribella L Munoz-Jimenez
Abstract
This paper examines the intersection of epistemology and social identity through the contrasting arguments of Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice O’Connor’s claim that wisdom is universally accessible contrasts with Justice Sotomayor’s argument that social identities offer unique insights to decision-making. The analysis begins by defining traditional and contrasting it to standpoint epistemology, highlighting how social identity influences knowledge acquisition and supporting Justice Sotomayor’s argument (Chapter 1). It then critiques the potential pitfalls of standpoint epistemology, such as blind deference, through Dror’s weak inversion thesis and Táíwò’s perspective on how we often highlight a subsegment of marginalized voices (Chapter 2). Finally, I propose cognitive empathy as a method for bridging epistemic gaps across social identities, combining the Justices’ views to advocate for an inclusive, empathetic framework for understanding knowledge (Chapter 3). The goal of this paper is to affirm the importance of balancing social identity with the shared pursuit of epistemic justice.
Recommended Citation
Munoz-Jimenez, Maribella, "A Wise Latina or a Wise Judge?: Exploring how Social Identity Shapes Knowledge Acquisition" (2025). CMC Senior Theses. 3766.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3766
