ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I contend that both pathologies of recognition and epistemic injustice turn on ‘gaslighting’ that undermines the oppressed subject’s sense of her own agency and legitimacy. I first briefly outline some of the main philosophical contributions to articulating a theory of gaslighting, all of which have grown out of recent work in feminist social epistemology. Next, I make a case for considering the affective dimension of gaslighting. Finally, I offer a social theory of the unconscious and the colonisation of psychic space as a supplement to feminist social epistemology, which I maintain is necessary to understand the phenomenon of gaslighting, particularly its affective and unintentional or unconscious dimensions.
