Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm

Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm

How do we know what violence is? And how do we acquire knowledge of violence? The key to these questions can be found in the epistemology of testimony. Testimonies of violence are first-person narratives of violence, therefore unless first-person narratives are recognized and legitimized as philosop...

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Main Author: Jacquette, Dale
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Language:Français
Published: 2013
Online Access:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
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spelling cairn-RIP_265_0293RIPRevue internationale de philosophie https://shs.cairn.info/revue-internationale-de-philosophie-2013-3-page-293?lang=en https://doi.org/10.3917/e.rip.265.0293 Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm Jacquette, Dale2013 fre Revue internationale de philosophie | 265 | 3 | 2013-09-01 | p. 293-322 | 0048-8143 RIP_26552 How do we know what violence is? And how do we acquire knowledge of violence? The key to these questions can be found in the epistemology of testimony. Testimonies of violence are first-person narratives of violence, therefore unless first-person narratives are recognized and legitimized as philosophically and epistemologically valuable, our knowledge of violence would be seriously compromised. The value of testimonies of violence lies in part in the transmission of truth-claims, but also crucially in the speech-act of giving a testimony. It is the latter that is the focus of this article. I will argue that the act of giving a testimony of violence, being listed to and believed, is essential for the survivor of violence in the process of rebuilding the sense of self and personhood in the aftermath of the violence endured.By looking at the work of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions worldwide, and highlighting in particular the role of trust within the dynamics of testimonies, I will argue that first-person testimonies of violence are also indispensable for another reason; namely, they prevent acts of violence from turning into instruments of epistemic injustice.Survivors of violence often find themselves being the victims of two forms of violence: apart from enduring the violence being afflicted on them, they also often suffer the epistemic injustice of being marginalized as credible sources of knowledge. Recognizing the validity of testimonies of violence in the form of first-person narratives of violence not only enables us to acquire knowledge of violence, but acknowledging the credibility of the narrator acts as a strong antidote to epistemic injustice.Cairn free access
language Français
format Article ou chapitre numérique
building 0/Bibliothèque numérique/
1/Bibliothèque numérique/Cairn/
description How do we know what violence is? And how do we acquire knowledge of violence? The key to these questions can be found in the epistemology of testimony. Testimonies of violence are first-person narratives of violence, therefore unless first-person narratives are recognized and legitimized as philosophically and epistemologically valuable, our knowledge of violence would be seriously compromised. The value of testimonies of violence lies in part in the transmission of truth-claims, but also crucially in the speech-act of giving a testimony. It is the latter that is the focus of this article. I will argue that the act of giving a testimony of violence, being listed to and believed, is essential for the survivor of violence in the process of rebuilding the sense of self and personhood in the aftermath of the violence endured.By looking at the work of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions worldwide, and highlighting in particular the role of trust within the dynamics of testimonies, I will argue that first-person testimonies of violence are also indispensable for another reason; namely, they prevent acts of violence from turning into instruments of epistemic injustice.Survivors of violence often find themselves being the victims of two forms of violence: apart from enduring the violence being afflicted on them, they also often suffer the epistemic injustice of being marginalized as credible sources of knowledge. Recognizing the validity of testimonies of violence in the form of first-person narratives of violence not only enables us to acquire knowledge of violence, but acknowledging the credibility of the narrator acts as a strong antidote to epistemic injustice.
author Jacquette, Dale
spellingShingle Jacquette, Dale
Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
author_facet Jacquette, Dale
author_sort Jacquette, Dale
title Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
title_short Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
title_full Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
title_fullStr Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
title_full_unstemmed Violence as Intentionally Inflicting Forceful Harm
title_sort violence as intentionally inflicting forceful harm
publishDate 2013
container_title
container_issue
url https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://shs.cairn.info/revue-internationale-de-philosophie-2013-3-page-293?lang=en
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.3917/e.rip.265.0293
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