scholarly journals From Standpoint Epistemology to Epistemic Oppression

Hypatia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana Toole

Standpoint epistemology is committed to a cluster of views that pays special attention to the role of social identity in knowledge‐acquisition. Of particular interest here is the situated knowledge thesis. This thesis holds that for certain propositions p, whether an epistemic agent is in a position to know that p depends on some nonepistemic facts related to the epistemic agent's social identity. In this article, I examine two possible ways to interpret this thesis. My first goal here is to clarify existing interpretations of this thesis that appear in the literature but that are undeveloped and often mistakenly conflated. In so doing, I aim to make clear the different versions of standpoint epistemology that one might accept and defend.This project is of significance, I argue, because standpoint epistemology provides helpful tools for understanding a phenomenon of recent interest: epistemic oppression. My second goal is to provide an analysis that makes clear how each of the readings I put forth can be used to illuminate forms of epistemic oppression.

Author(s):  
Milja Kurki

This chapter, first of three to develop relational cosmology in conversation with critical social theory and IR theory, argues that at the heart of relational cosmology lies a commitment to situated knowledge. This perspective on knowledge production is similar in some regards to standpoint epistemology but also diverges from it in key respects. The chapter argues that IR scholarship can benefit from close engagement with relational cosmology suggestions as to how our knowledge is limited and how we might need to ‘deal with it’, especially in the social sciences, where there is a tendency to glorify the role of the human in knowing the human.


Episteme ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana Toole

Abstract Standpoint epistemology, the view that social identity is relevant to knowledge-acquisition, has been consigned to the margins of mainstream philosophy. In part, this is because the principles of standpoint epistemology are taken to be in opposition to those which guide traditional epistemology. One goal of this paper is to tease out the characterization of traditional epistemology that is at odds with standpoint epistemology. The characterization of traditional epistemology that I put forth is one which endorses the thesis of intellectualism, the view that knowledge does not depend on non-epistemic features. I then suggest that two further components – the atomistic view of knowers and aperspectivalism – can be usefully interpreted as supporting features of intellectualism. A further goal of this paper is to show that we ought to resist this characterization of traditional epistemology. I use pragmatic encroachment as a dialectical tool to motivate the denial of intellectualism, and consequently, the denial of both supporting components. I then attempt to show how it is possible to have a view, similar to pragmatic encroachment, that takes social identity, rather than stakes, to be the feature that makes a difference to what a person is in a position to know.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-215
Author(s):  
Luke Connolly

This essay proposes that the picture of a broken circle encountered by Watt during the second part of his tale marks a crucial collision point between Beckett's literary and mathematical interests and triggers a process of fractal scaling self-similarity. Building on recent interest concerning the role of the mathematics and mathematical forms found in Beckett's work, I argue that the broken circle depicted in the picture from Watt is a geometric form which (re)appears within at least three interlocking scales throughout Beckett's novel-length prose: (i) its moment of arrival in the picture from Watt, (ii) a macroscopic reinscription in the names of the protagonists populating the five novels spanning Watt through to The Unnamable and (iii) buried within the narratological depths of How It Is. As a structural principle, the interminable irregularity of fractals offered Beckett a viable solution for what he considered the defining task of the modern artist: ‘to find a form to accommodate the mess’. Moreover, the specific shape selected for his fractal is shown to contain within its geometry one of Beckett's most universal and pressing concerns: the inevitable insufficiency of language. Therefore, although this essay restricts itself to examining Beckett's novel-length prose, the idea of a broken circle fractal promises to provide a valuable heuristic through which to reassess the author's other generic avenues. Fractals thus offer a means through which one can bind together the length and breadth of Beckett's oeuvre without ever reducing dynamic chaos to stable order.


Author(s):  
Émilie Perez

The role of children in Merovingian society has long been downplayed, and the study of their graves and bones has long been neglected. However, during the past fifteen years, archaeologists have shown growing interest in the place of children in Merovingian society. Nonetheless, this research has not been without challenges linked to the nature of the biological and material remains. Recent analysis of 315 children’s graves from four Merovingian cemeteries in northern Gaul (sixth to seventh centuries) allows us to understand the modalities of burial ritual for children. A new method for classifying children into social age groups shows that the type, quality, quantity, and diversity of grave goods were directly correlated with the age of the deceased. They increased from the age of eight and particularly around the time of puberty. This study discusses the role of age and gender in the construction and expression of social identity during childhood in the Merovingian period.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110194
Author(s):  
Sonia Roccas ◽  
Adi Amit ◽  
Shani Oppenheim-Weller ◽  
Osnat Hazan ◽  
Lilach Sagiv

We suggest that intentionality attributed to dissenting behavior in intergroup contexts (e.g., exposing one’s country’s secrets) may be conceptualized as benefitting one of four social circles. Two social circles exclude the perceiver: (a) the actor him/herself and (b) the outgroup affected by the behavior; and two circles include the perceiver: (c) the ingroup of both the perceiver and the actor and (d) humanity as the ultimate collective including both ingroup and outgroup. We further suggest that adopting different beneficiary attributions depends on the perceivers’ social identity complexity (Roccas & Brewer, 2002), which refers to an individual’s representation of their multiple social identities on a continuum from highly overlapping to highly differentiated (i.e., simple vs. complex social identity). Perceivers are more likely to attribute dissent behavior to social circles that exclude (rather than include) themselves the simpler their social identity; such exclusive attributions lead to harsher moral judgements, expressed as punitiveness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 106092
Author(s):  
Ping Guo ◽  
Guifeng Shi ◽  
Gary Gang Tian ◽  
Siqi Duan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6414
Author(s):  
Yun-kyung Jeon ◽  
Daeh-wan Kim ◽  
Seung-jin Han ◽  
Yi-han Huang ◽  
Jin-jae Kim

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the structural relationship between the servicescape, the emotional experience, space flow, satisfaction, and consumer loyalty in the context of sport fitness centers. Furthermore, the present study aimed to examine the moderating role of knowledge acquisition motivation in the effect of the servicescape on the emotional experience and space flow. For these research purposes, a survey study targeting 400 consumers of sport fitness centers was conducted via online and offline survey platforms in South Korea. After deleting 16 incomplete cases, 384 cases were included in the final data analysis. The results of latent moderated equations modeling (LMS) showed that the servicescape directly enhances the emotional experience and space flow. Also, it indirectly affects consumer loyalty via the emotional experience, space flow, and consumer satisfaction. Meanwhile, knowledge acquisition motivation was found to moderate the effect of the servicescape on space flow. The present study has several theoretical implications. First, the current study illuminates the process mechanism of the effect of the servicescape in sport fitness centers on consumer loyalty. Second, the present study empirically shows different patterns of consumer experiences and decision-making depending on consumption motivation. Based on the results, sport fitness center managers should not only pay more attention to the convenience of their servicescape but they should also design service environments maximizing consumers′ emotional experiences. Additionally, the results imply that assigning exercise beginners to an attractive physical environment is an effective strategy, because they are more likely to evaluate their experiences based on the perceived servicescape.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document