Epistemology of Ignorance

The main idea behind the epistemology of ignorance is tradition of leaving out a group’s, such as women’s, experiences and values from the discussion of knowledge and relevant history. A group of people, which often labels themselves as the dominant or superior group due to their economic, social, or simply perceived supremacy, do not bother to learn the true nature of another group of people, be they of a different gender, race, culture, or heritage. However, interaction with these groups of people leads to stereotypes, assumptions, and labeling falsely. Essentially, these misconceived and false conventions are what the epistemology of ignorance are.

            An example of this, as the Tuana article explains, is the treatment female sexuality received both in history and in society’s expectations of marriage. For many years, a woman’s sexual deeds spoke more to her perceived virtue and submissiveness. Any woman who searched for sexual gratification was immediately labeled a harlot or unacceptable as a wife and mother, while any exploration of genitals or sexuality was treated by males as sinful, unladylike, and unbecoming of any proper young woman. Due to this, a woman’s sexuality, both in a physical and emotional sense, gained a taboo like association. Any exploration, information, or knowledge regarding the subject, and by proxy topics such as the vaginal orgasm, the clitoris, and others, were brushed aside. Until recently, a woman who sought sexual pleasure wrought negative social stigma around herself. Female masturbation, as another example, receives a sense of awkwardness and discomfort from men. A woman who touches her sexual organs to provide herself pleasure is labeled a slut, while a man who preforms the same action is though of as a healthy young growing man; a double standard if there ever was one A man’s sexual freedom and desires, of course, varied vastly from this. Their multiple experiences and the unrestrictive environment men enjoyed allowed a wide berth of knowledge to be distributed and passed down through generations. One of many examples, the epistemology of ignorance deals with this type of negligence of experience and information. It can also apply to racial and cultural ignorance. For example, as a lighter skinned Mexican, I have always been received and treated as an anomaly in America. People often speak out against the fact that while Mexican, I resemble an American or a European person more than their stereotypical Mexican. This is due to cultural ignorance. White Mexicans, as we are sometimes called, are extremely common in Mexico, but not in the United States. Mostly, this is due to the fact that white Mexicans are associated with upper class jobs, where there is a large abundance. Americans, however, ignore that Mexico has a fully functioning economy and government, corrupt as it may be, and label all Mexicans as field workers. This ignorance is exactly what the epistemology of ignorance describes.

To fight this, Tuana states, one must do the opposite of what the subscribers of ignorance do. One must explore, discover, and learn all the information the ignorant others of the world ignore and mistreat, passing on the information and allowing it to become more widely known. For example, women must explore their sexuality freely and allow younger generations, both men and women, to grow up with the information easily accessible. In addition, young women, girls mostly, must be encouraged to embrace and explore their sexuality as they grow. Gone are the days where a woman’s sexuality is a taboo subject. If a young girl has a question, she must have the freedom to ask any adult of confidence within her life. Though there is much more to do to end ignorance, in this way, we can begin to put an end to this epistemology of ignorance.