Can a person privileged in some respect understand what it is like to be disprivileged in that respect? Some say yes; some say no. I argue that both positions are correct, because ‘understand what it is like to be disprivileged’ is ambiguous. Sometimes, it means grasp of the character of particular experiences of disprivileged people. Privileged people can achieve this. Sometimes, it means grasp of the general character shared by experiences of disprivileged people. Privileged people cannot achieve this. However, there is a general kind of understanding that they can achieve: understanding of why individual experiences have their character, in relation to privilege and disprivilege. This understanding is a skill, not knowledge. It is difficult and discomforting for the privileged to acquire and is easily conflated with knowledge of general experiential character. Distinguishing and characterizing these kinds of understanding clarifies whether, and how, the privileged might understand what it is like to be disprivileged.

中文翻译：

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了解获得（不）特权是什么感觉

在某些方面享有特权的人能否理解在这方面被剥夺特权是什么感觉？有人说是；有人说不。我认为这两种立场都是正确的，因为“理解被剥夺特权是什么感觉”是模棱两可的。有时，它意味着对弱势群体特定经历的特征的把握。有特权的人可以做到这一点。有时，它意味着掌握弱势群体的经历所共有的一般性格。有特权的人无法做到这一点。然而，他们可以达成一种普遍的理解：理解为什么个人经历具有与特权和特权相关的特征。这种理解是一种技能，而不是知识。特权人士很难获得这种知识，而且很容易与一般经验特征的知识混为一谈。区分和描述这些类型的理解可以阐明特权者是否以及如何理解被剥夺特权的感觉。