Conscientious Knowers and Ecological Wisdom: Towards a Critical Recognition of Tribal or Adivasi Knowledge and Forest Epistemic Authority in Odisha through the Lens of Linda Zagzebski’s Virtue Epistemology

Rohit Ekka

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.83069

Conscientious Knowers and Ecological Wisdom: Towards a Critical Recognition of Tribal or Adivasi Knowledge and Forest Epistemic Authority in Odisha through the Lens of Linda Zagzebski’s Virtue Epistemology

Author(s)	Mr. Rohit Ekka
Country	India
Abstract	Epistemology, as a branch of philosophy, concerns itself with the processes, conditions, and limits of human knowledge. While traditional epistemology has largely focused on abstract and classical theories of knowledge, this study turns to virtue epistemology, particularly the responsibilist approach advanced by Linda Zagzebski. The aim of this research is to critically examine the significance of virtue epistemology while contextualising it within the tribal worldview of Odisha, especially their knowledge of forests and land. Tribal communities possess a deep ecological wisdom, yet their ways of knowing are often marginalised, denied, or dismissed by mainstream society. Such marginalisation constitutes both hermeneutical and epistemic injustice. This study explores how virtue epistemology, understood not merely as an individual-centred account but also in its communitarian dimension, can illuminate the epistemic practices of tribal communities. The virtues of individual knowers are inseparably linked to the flourishing of the community, just as communal practices of knowing sustain the integrity of individual epistemic agents. By analysing tribal knowledge of forests through the lens of virtue epistemology, this research seeks to uncover the ethical and political dimensions of epistemic authority. It interrogates how far tribal communities, as knowers of the forest, embody epistemic virtues, and conversely, how the state and its political structures, which claim authority over forest knowledge, measure up to such virtues. Ultimately, the study aims to reveal the tensions, injustices, and possibilities that emerge when virtue epistemology is situated within the lived realities of Odisha’s tribal communities.
Keywords	Virtue Epistemology, Tribals of Odisha, Responsibilist, Epistemic Injustice, Hermeneutical Injustice, Knower of the Forest
Field	Sociology > Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 4, July-August 2026
Published On	2026-07-07
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.83069

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Conscientious Knowers and Ecological Wisdom: Towards a Critical Recognition of Tribal or Adivasi Knowledge and Forest Epistemic Authority in Odisha through the Lens of Linda Zagzebski’s Virtue Epistemology

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