The concept of cognitive justice is based on the recognition of the plurality of knowledge and expresses the right of the different forms of knowledge to co-exist.Shiv Visvanathan (2009). "The search for cognitive justice". Retrieved January 7, 2011.
Indian scholar Shiv Visvanathan coined the term cognitive justice in his 1997 book "A Carnival for Science: Essays on science, technology and development".Visvanathan, Shiv (1997). "A Carnival for Science: Essays on science, technology and development". London: Oxford University Press Commenting on the destructive impact of hegemonic Western science on developing countries and non-Western cultures, Visvanathan calls for the recognition of alternative sciences or non-Western forms of knowledge. He argues that different knowledges are connected with different livelihoods and lifestyles and should therefore be treated equally.
Cognitive justice is a critique on the dominant paradigm of modern scienceSantos, Boaventura de Sousa (ed) (2007). "Cognitive Justice in a Global World: Prudent knowledges for a decent life". Lanham: Lexington and promotes the recognition of alternative paradigms or alternative sciences by facilitating and enabling dialogue between, often incommensurable, knowledges. These dialogues of knowledge are perceived as contributing to a more sustainable, equitable, and democratic world.
The call for cognitive justice is found in a growing variety of fields, such as ethnobiology,Augusto, Geri (2008). " Digitizing IKS: Epistemic complexity, datadiversity & cognitive justice". Retrieved January 7, 2011. In The International Information & Library Review vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 211-218. Retrieved on January 7, 2011 technology and database design,van der Velden, Maja (2009), "Design for a Common World: On Ethical agency and cognitive justice". Retrieved January 7, 2011. In Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 37 - 47 and in information and communication technology for development (ICT4D).Reilly, Katherine (2010). "From ICT4D to Cognitive Justice: Designing Research for Open Development". Retrieved on January 7, 2011
South-African scholar and UNESCO education expert Catherine Odora Hoppers wrote about cognitive justice in the field of education.Odora Hoppers, Catherine A. (2009). "Education, culture and society in a globalizing world: implications for comparative and international education". In Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 601 - 614 She argued that indigenous knowledges have to be included in the dialogues of knowledge without having to fit in the structures and standards of Western knowledge. When Indigenous knowledges are treated equally, they can play their role in making a more democratic and dialogical science, which remains connected to the livelihoods and survival of all cultures.
On September 4th 2026, arguing in favor of Equal Earth map projection as opposed to Mercator projection maps of the world, Robert Dussey, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Togo and African Group representative, at the United Nations General Assembly: 114th Plenary meeting, 80th session, said,https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168284https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1b1p3om04
See also Decolonization of knowledge Sociology of absences
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