Epistemological Supremacism

The belief that one's own epistemological framework—typically Western scientific materialism—is not just valid but inherently superior to all other ways of knowing, and that those who use different frameworks are not just different but deficient. Epistemological supremacism justifies dismissing indigenous knowledge, oral traditions, experiential knowledge, and spiritual insights as "unscientific" or "irrational," often without examining them. It is a form of cognitive colonialism that imposes one culture's standards of truth on all others.

Example: "He told an indigenous elder that his knowledge was 'just anecdote.' Epistemological supremacism: assuming one way of knowing is the only way."

Epistemological Supremacism by Dumu The Void April 18, 2026