Feminist epistemology
Encyclopedia
Feminist epistemology is concerned with the way in which gender influences our concept of knowledge and "practices of inquiry and justification". It comes under the umbrella of social epistemology
, the broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge. Elisabeth Anderson argues that the concept of situated knowledge is central to feminist epistemology. Donna Haraway
makes the point that most knowledge, in particular academic knowledge is always situated and "produced by positioned actors working in/between all kinds of locations, working up/on/through all kinds of research relation(ships)" (Cook, et al..), and thus what is known and the ways in which this knowledge can be known is subject to the position - the situation and perspective - of the knower.
Feminist epistemology includes feminist empiricism: obtaining knowledge through the experiences of women. According to feminist standpoint theory, a form of polylogism
, the exclusive experience of women should be considered in our conception of knowledge. This theory is similar to the Marxist form of polylogism. According to Marxism, the proletariat
have knowledge that the bourgeoisie
do not, while, according to the feminist standpoint theory, women have knowledge that men do not.
Postmodern feminism looks critically at the causes of inequalities and differences between men and women as well as the structure of society. Some postmodern feminists suggest that terms such as 'oppressed' actually encourage patriarchy.
The English feminist philosopher Miranda Fricker
has argued that in addition to social or political injustices, there can be epistemic injustices in two forms: testimonial injustice and hermeneutical injustice. Testimonial injustice consists in prejudices that cause one to "give a deflated level of credibility to a speaker's word" and gives the example of a woman who due to her gender is not believed in a business meeting. She may make a good case, but prejudice causes the listeners to believe her arguments to be less competent or sincere and thus less believable. In this kind of case, Fricker argues that as well as there being an injustice caused by possible outcomes (such as the speaker missing a promotion at work), there is a testimonial injustice: "a kind of injustice in which someone is wronged specifically in her capacity as a knower".
Social epistemology
Social epistemology is a broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge, all of which construe human knowledge as a collective achievement. Another way of positioning social epistemology is as the study of the social dimensions of knowledge. One of the enduring difficulties with defining social...
, the broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge. Elisabeth Anderson argues that the concept of situated knowledge is central to feminist epistemology. Donna Haraway
Donna Haraway
Donna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
makes the point that most knowledge, in particular academic knowledge is always situated and "produced by positioned actors working in/between all kinds of locations, working up/on/through all kinds of research relation(ships)" (Cook, et al..), and thus what is known and the ways in which this knowledge can be known is subject to the position - the situation and perspective - of the knower.
Feminist epistemology includes feminist empiricism: obtaining knowledge through the experiences of women. According to feminist standpoint theory, a form of polylogism
Polylogism
Polylogism is a term used by some economists of the Austrian School and some philosophers of objectivism to denote the belief that different groups of people reason in fundamentally different ways . The term is attributed to Ludwig von Mises, who claimed that it described Marxism and other social...
, the exclusive experience of women should be considered in our conception of knowledge. This theory is similar to the Marxist form of polylogism. According to Marxism, the proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
have knowledge that the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
do not, while, according to the feminist standpoint theory, women have knowledge that men do not.
Postmodern feminism looks critically at the causes of inequalities and differences between men and women as well as the structure of society. Some postmodern feminists suggest that terms such as 'oppressed' actually encourage patriarchy.
The English feminist philosopher Miranda Fricker
Miranda Fricker
Miranda Fricker is an English philosopher. She currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London.-Career:...
has argued that in addition to social or political injustices, there can be epistemic injustices in two forms: testimonial injustice and hermeneutical injustice. Testimonial injustice consists in prejudices that cause one to "give a deflated level of credibility to a speaker's word" and gives the example of a woman who due to her gender is not believed in a business meeting. She may make a good case, but prejudice causes the listeners to believe her arguments to be less competent or sincere and thus less believable. In this kind of case, Fricker argues that as well as there being an injustice caused by possible outcomes (such as the speaker missing a promotion at work), there is a testimonial injustice: "a kind of injustice in which someone is wronged specifically in her capacity as a knower".
External links
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-epistemology/
- 'Positionality/Situated Knowledge', by Ian Cook (PDF)http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/downloads/gesdraftpapers/iancook-situatedknowledge.pdf