Cognitive justice

Lore & Background

Indian scholar Shiv Visvanathan coined the term cognitive justice in his 1997 book 'A Carnival for Science: Essays on science, technology and development'. He commented on the destructive impact of hegemonic Western science on developing countries and non-Western cultures, calling for the recognition of alternative sciences or non-Western forms of knowledge. He argued that different knowledges are connected with different livelihoods and lifestyles and should therefore be treated equally.

South-African scholar and UNESCO education expert Catherine Odora Hoppers wrote about cognitive justice in the field of education. She argued that indigenous knowledges must be included in dialogues of knowledge without having to fit into the structures and standards of Western knowledge. When treated equally, they can play a role in making a more democratic and dialogical science connected to the livelihoods and survival of all cultures.

On September 4th 2026, Robert Dussey, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Togo and African Group representative, argued at the United Nations General Assembly that cognitive justice concerns access to exact geographical knowledge, the dignity of peoples, historic memory, and the fight against inherited representations that have influenced perception. He stated that maps shape understanding of the world and are never neutral.

Reader's Guide

Cognitive justice has become a significant concept across multiple fields, including ethnobiology, technology and database design, and information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). Its core insight—that different knowledges are tied to different livelihoods and should be treated equally—challenges the dominance of Western science as the sole valid form of knowledge. The concept has been applied in education by scholars like Catherine Odora Hoppers, who insisted that indigenous knowledges should not be forced to conform to Western standards. The term also entered international diplomacy in 2026, when Togo's foreign minister invoked cognitive justice to argue for the Equal Earth map projection over the Mercator projection, asserting that maps are never neutral and that accurate representation is a matter of dignity and historical memory. The concept remains a critique of hegemonic knowledge systems and a call for pluralistic, dialogical approaches to science and society.

Did You Know?

• The term cognitive justice was coined by Indian scholar Shiv Visvanathan in his 1997 book 'A Carnival for Science'.
• Catherine Odora Hoppers argued that indigenous knowledges should be included in dialogues without having to fit Western knowledge structures.
• In 2026, Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey used cognitive justice to argue for the Equal Earth map projection at the UN General Assembly.
• Cognitive justice is applied in fields such as ethnobiology, technology and database design, and ICT4D.

Origins and the Coining of the Term

The phrase cognitive justice entered academic discourse through Indian scholar Shiv Visvanathan, who introduced it in his 1997 collection of essays titled A Carnival for Science: Essays on science, technology and development. Visvanathan's motivation was a pointed critique of what he saw as the destructive influence that hegemonic Western science exerted on developing nations and non-Western cultural traditions. Rather than simply opposing Western science, he advocated for the formal recognition of alternative sciences and non-Western forms of knowledge as legitimate intellectual traditions. A central pillar of his argument was the observation that distinct bodies of knowledge are inseparable from the livelihoods and lifestyles of the communities that produce them. Because these knowledges sustain different ways of living, Visvanathan insisted they must be afforded equal standing rather than being subordinated to a single dominant epistemological framework. His work thus laid the philosophical groundwork for a broader movement that would later spread across multiple disciplines and continents.

Core Philosophy and the Call for Dialogue

At its heart, cognitive justice functions as a structural critique of the modern scientific paradigm that has dominated global intellectual life. It does not merely add alternative voices to an existing conversation; it challenges the very architecture that determines which knowledges are considered valid. The framework promotes the recognition of alternative paradigms and what might be called alternative sciences, while actively facilitating dialogue between knowledge systems that are often incommensurable, meaning they operate on such different foundational assumptions that direct comparison becomes genuinely difficult. Proponents argue that these dialogues of knowledge are not abstract academic exercises but carry practical weight: they are seen as pathways toward a world that is more sustainable, more equitable, and more genuinely democratic. The concept rests on the foundational recognition that knowledge is plural, and that different forms of knowing possess an inherent right to co-exist without one being elevated above the rest. This pluralistic stance distinguishes cognitive justice from mere relativism, as it actively seeks constructive engagement rather than simple tolerance.

Education and the Place of Indigenous Knowledge

South-African scholar and UNESCO education expert Catherine Odora Hoppers extended the cognitive justice framework into the domain of education, where its implications are particularly acute. Her central argument is that indigenous knowledges must be brought into dialogues of knowledge on their own terms, without being forced to conform to the structures, standards, and evaluative criteria of Western academic knowledge. This is a crucial distinction: inclusion does not mean assimilation. When indigenous epistemologies are treated as equals rather than as curiosities to be catalogued within a Western framework, they can fulfill their proper role in shaping a science that is genuinely democratic and dialogical. Such a science remains tethered to the practical livelihoods and survival needs of all cultures, not just those that happen to align with dominant institutional norms. The broader call for cognitive justice has since found expression in a growing variety of fields, including ethnobiology, technology and database design, and information and communication technology for development, signaling that the principle transcends any single academic discipline.

Cognitive Justice on the Global Diplomatic Stage

The principle of cognitive justice has moved well beyond academic journals into high-level international diplomacy. On September 4, 2026, Robert Dussey, Togo's Minister for Foreign Affairs and representative of the African Group, invoked the concept directly on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly during the 114th Plenary meeting of its 80th session. Speaking in favor of the Equal Earth map projection as a replacement for the long-dominant Mercator projection, Dussey framed the choice of cartographic representation as a matter of cognitive justice: the right of peoples to encounter accurate geographical knowledge, to see their dignity reflected in how the world is drawn, to preserve historical memory, and to resist inherited visual conventions that warp collective perception. He stressed that maps are never neutral instruments; they steer education, feed the imagination, and shape how entire societies picture their place on Earth. A distorted projection, he warned, risks passing flawed images from one generation to the next. Correcting the map, in his framing, means choosing fidelity to fact and affirming that every region of the world merits accurate, dignified representation.