Double‑Epistemology (Social Control Theory)

A situation where two incompatible knowledge systems are recognized: one for the powerful (formal, quantitative, institutionally sanctioned) and one for the marginalized (experiential, qualitative, dismissed as “anecdotal”). Double‑epistemology ensures that the knowledge of the dominant group is treated as universal, while the knowledge of the oppressed is treated as merely personal. It is the epistemic foundation of inequality.

Double‑Epistemology (Social Control Theory) Example: “The residents’ decades of observations about pollution were dismissed as ‘anecdotal’ until a university study confirmed them—double‑epistemology, knowing that only institutional knowledge counts.”

Double‑Epistemology (Social Control Theory) by Abzugal March 27, 2026