Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science

Standpoint and feminist epistemologies have provided a number of theoretical advancements concerning the ways we ought to think about the production of knowledge across scientific disciplines. Despite these theoretical contributions, in this paper, we critique what we call the “thin” application/im...

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Main Authors: Piper Sledge, Collin Rice
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Western Ontario 2025-06-01
Series:Feminist Philosophy Quarterly
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/fpq/article/view/18855
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author Piper Sledge
Collin Rice
author_facet Piper Sledge
Collin Rice
author_sort Piper Sledge
collection DOAJ
description Standpoint and feminist epistemologies have provided a number of theoretical advancements concerning the ways we ought to think about the production of knowledge across scientific disciplines. Despite these theoretical contributions, in this paper, we critique what we call the “thin” application/implementation of diversity within the epistemic practices of science and academia. As an alternative, we place these theories in conversation with recent philosophy of science and Indigenous epistemology focused on the epistemic aims of communal explanation and understanding. We contend that conceptions of diversity that focus on the standpoints of individual researchers and attempts to merely “add diversity and stir” make it more difficult for these epistemic goals of science to be achieved. We then argue that for diversity to contribute to increasing the variety of explanations and promote more substantive understanding of epistemic communities requires a “thick” implementation that incorporates lessons from standpoint, feminist, and Indigenous epistemologies into the heart of scientific practices.
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spelling doaj-art-32d5de989eee46c3a82f7bb08cbb91e22025-08-20T02:33:00ZengUniversity of Western OntarioFeminist Philosophy Quarterly2371-25702025-06-01112Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in SciencePiper Sledge0Collin Rice1University of ArizonaColorado State University Standpoint and feminist epistemologies have provided a number of theoretical advancements concerning the ways we ought to think about the production of knowledge across scientific disciplines. Despite these theoretical contributions, in this paper, we critique what we call the “thin” application/implementation of diversity within the epistemic practices of science and academia. As an alternative, we place these theories in conversation with recent philosophy of science and Indigenous epistemology focused on the epistemic aims of communal explanation and understanding. We contend that conceptions of diversity that focus on the standpoints of individual researchers and attempts to merely “add diversity and stir” make it more difficult for these epistemic goals of science to be achieved. We then argue that for diversity to contribute to increasing the variety of explanations and promote more substantive understanding of epistemic communities requires a “thick” implementation that incorporates lessons from standpoint, feminist, and Indigenous epistemologies into the heart of scientific practices. https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/fpq/article/view/18855standpointfeminist epistemologyIndigenous epistemologyexplanationunderstandingepistemic diversity
spellingShingle Piper Sledge
Collin Rice
Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
Feminist Philosophy Quarterly
standpoint
feminist epistemology
Indigenous epistemology
explanation
understanding
epistemic diversity
title Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
title_full Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
title_fullStr Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
title_full_unstemmed Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
title_short Reimagining the Potential of Feminist Epistemologies in Science
title_sort reimagining the potential of feminist epistemologies in science
topic standpoint
feminist epistemology
Indigenous epistemology
explanation
understanding
epistemic diversity
url https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/fpq/article/view/18855
work_keys_str_mv AT pipersledge reimaginingthepotentialoffeministepistemologiesinscience
AT collinrice reimaginingthepotentialoffeministepistemologiesinscience