Epistemocracy in Higher Education
A Proposal for Fiduciary and Epistemic Accountability in the University
Abstract
This paper proposes epistemocracy, a transformative governance model for higher education institutions that explicitly prioritises epistemic plurality, fiduciary transparency, and distributed credibility. Critically responding to entrenched epistemic injustices, it introduces strategic conceptual tools—optocratic drift, fiducial hollowing, and epistemic inversion—to clearly identify and challenge institutional practices privileging visual representation and symbolic accountability over genuine epistemic diversity and fiduciary obligations. Drawing upon democratic epistemology (Anderson), critical pedagogy (Freire, Darder), fiduciary ethics (Frankel), and agonistic pluralism (Mouffe), epistemocracy seeks not mere institutional reform but profound epistemic reorientation. Ultimately, this work argues that epistemocracy not only restores universities’ democratic and epistemic integrity but significantly impacts broader societal issues including public trust, social justice, and democratic governance.
Keywords
epistemocracy, epistemic justice, fiduciary ethics, higher education governance, epistemic democracy, distributed credibility, fiduciary transparency, epistemic pluralism, optocratic drift, fiducial hollowing, epistemic inversion, epistemic accountability, institutional reform, democratic governance, critical pedagogy, agonistic pluralism, epistemic resistance, public trust, social justice, institutional accountability, democratic epistemology, Tamar Frankel, Miranda Fricker, José Medina, Elizabeth Anderson, Paulo Freire, Antonia Darder, Chantal Mouffe
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Peter Kahl, ‘Epistemocracy in Higher Education — A Proposal for Fiduciary and Epistemic Accountability in the University’ (Substack, 2025) <https://pkahl.substack.com/p/epistemocracy-higher-education-fiduciary-epistemic-accountability>