I’ve toyed with the idea that one of the major values of social justice is basically empiricism. Social justice contains certain theories, but you can’t just rely on theories. Theories live or die by the whims of empirical reality. In order to figure out the best way to live in a diverse society, we need to rely on observations. In other words, we have to actually listen to people, not just make assumptions.
Of course, I would think that empiricism is a social justice value. I spent a decade involved in skeptical and atheist activism, then departed for more social-justice-oriented waters. It’s natural for me to draw mental connections and decide that actually, both of these things that I have liked are founded upon similar values. Call it a personal pop philosophy. If we’re being serious, I think most skeptics would not have thought to apply empiricism in the particular way that I do; and most social justice advocates would not name empiricism as one of their core values.
But maybe they ought to? I think social justice could benefit from more attentiveness to epistemology.
