INTRODUCTION
Feminist epistemology
is the same thing as the feminist theory of knowledge, feminist theory of
knowledge is of the view, the ways gender influences what epistemic agents
takes to be knowledge. Feminist epistemology is in part motivated by the
recognition that each epistemic agent occupies a position in one or more social
groups. According to these theory of knowledge their claims are always social
situated. So what affects one ways of knowing is the class, gender, race,
culture and culture background.[1]
And this feminist epistemology negates the traditional western epistemology
because traditional western epistemology (modern epistemology) holds that
knowledge claims are made from no particular time, location, circumstances and
perspectives, and therefore they are true in all situations and from all
perspective. So this modern epistemology denies the knowledge of socially and historically
construction. And they are also male biased (masculine) who fails to take
women’s experience and perspective into account due to existence of male
domination simply because males norms are been regarded as objective and
universal standards for all.
However, on the foundation of the above exposition
my aim in this work is to expose critically the feminist epistemology. In
exposing the theme of this work I will adhered to this outline;
·
THE CONCEPT OF FEMINISM
·
THE CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE
·
CRITICAL EXPOSITION OF FEMINIST
EPISTEMOLOGY
·
FEMINIST IDEOLOGIES
·
THE RELEVANCE OF FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY
·
THE DEMERITS OF FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY
·
EVALUATION/CONCLUSION
FEMINISM AS A CONCEPT
Feminism has altered predominate
perspectives including range of areas within Western society, ranging from
culture to law. Feminist activities have campaigned for women’s rights (rights
of contract, property right, voting rights to bodily integrity and autonomy,
and for reproductive right (including access to adequate prenatal care); for
protection of woman and gins from domestic violence, sexual harassment and
rape; for work place right, including maternity leave and equal pay; and
against other forms of discrimination. There have also been the campaigns for
legal and social equality for women.
However, etymological speaking,
the word feminism is from the French word “Femme”, which could be translated to
mean ‘women’ in English. It was used to refer to a movement in the United
States in 19th century. Originally it focused on the promotion of
equal standard and right for contract and property, for women and the
opposition to chattel marriage and ownership of married women and their
children by their husband. At the end of the 19th century, activism
focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women’s
suffrage. Feminist such as voltairine de Clevie and Margeret Sunger were still
active in campaigning for women’s sexual, reproductive and economic right at
this time.
Furthermore, in the 20th
century the usage of this term was in reference to women’s right advocates who
stressed the importance of motherhood and women, the mystical experience of
motherhood and women’s special purity.[2]
In a sense feminists have always exited, certainly, as long as women have been
subordinated, they have resisted that subordination. Sometimes, the resistance
has been collective and conscious at other times.[3]
Feminism involves a
great quest for equality, and this concept have been used in different ways in
our society, and no matter the different ways, it is clear that feminism is the
up-lift of womanhood in the society. The fight for equal rights is suggestive
of existing inequality in the society, the right in every society should be
looked into, which will in return help women to attain and as well achieve
their right in our different societies. The motivation of women in each society
should be clear task and to motivate women to a great height through the
various means available such as; political, social and economic dimensions.
However, inequality is
usually in the form of male dominance, which is generally referred to as
sexism.
EPISTEMOLOGY AS A
CONCEPT
Etymologically
epistemology is derived from a Greek word episteme which means knowledge and
logos which means explanation, so epistemology is the study of the nature of
knowledge. It expounds many theories that border on knowledge and raises
critical questions bordering on our idea of knowledge. It examines the basis of
our knowledge claims and attempts to provide justification of what we claim to
know. Epistemology constantly undergoes growth and development in an effort to
address man’s knowledge claims.
Epistemology
interrogate about how we acquire knowledge of external world, by analyzing or
verifying how we conceived the knowledge and that makes it to studies notions
like perception, memory, proof, evidence, belief and certainty that are related
to the concept of knowledge.[4]
Having explained the meaning of feminist and epistemology, I think I be will be
better to combine the two concepts together.
CRITICAL EXPOSITION OF
FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY
The term feminist epistemologies are applied
to a heterogeneous group of studies including a wide range of perspectives,
relating both to epistemology and feminism. All these studies hold that it is
not possible to have a general theory of knowledge, if we ignore the social
context of the subject of knowledge. Feminist epistemologists are interested in how the norms and
practices of knowledge production affect the lives of women and are implicated
in systems of oppression. Feminist epistemologists seek or investigate to
understand not only how our
social relations of gender have shaped our knowledge practices, but also
whether and how these relations should
play a role in good knowing.[5]
Additionally, feminist epistemologists have increasingly attended to the
interrelations between gender and other social categories such as race, class,
and sexuality, investigating their significance for knowledge. Feminist
epistemology is concerned with "whose knowledge" is being considered.
Feminist epistemologists critique traditional epistemology and argue for ways
of understanding knowledge that focus on context and situation. Feminist
epistemologists do not suggest that empirical evidence is wrong, but rather
that it is necessary to understand that most beliefs are as much a result of
their social context as they are factually true. The particulars of knowledge construction are
the main focus for feminist epistemologists, rather than universal
circumstances for justifying knowledge. These feminist philosophers are often working
on undertakings that are political in addition to intellectual.
Furthermore,
Feminist epistemology is a broad field. Today it addresses nearly every
discipline and there is a significant amount of scholarly work done in the
subject. And there are different
feminist epistemological approaches which I explain below.
FEMINIST
EPISTEMOLOGICAL APPROCHES
·
Feminist
empiricism
·
Feminist
standpoint
·
Post
modernism
FEMINIST EMPIRICISM
Feminist
empiricism would retain the two basic philosophical assumptions of science. The
first assumption, philosophical realism, asserts the existence of the world as
the object of knowledge independent of the human knower. The second assumption
is the empiricist conviction that all knowledge derives from experience through
the senses.[6] Feminist
empiricists affirms that with the inclusion of women (which means literally
including more women as scientists and researchers as well as including more
women's experiences as objects of inquiry) in all phases of observation and
theory formation, gender bias can be eradicated and objective knowledge
achieved. No matter how strong the evidence we have for assessing probabilities
may be, we can never attain uncontestable truth. In the case where traditional
empiricism belittles the role of feminist theory in shaping perception,
feminist empiricism overestimates the power of women's perspectives to increase
objectivity.
FEMINIST STANDPOINT
Feminist
standpoint theories appropriate the Marxist belief in the epistemological
superiority of the perspective of the oppressed class, in this case, women.
These theories reject the notion of an unmediated truth, arguing that knowledge
is always mediated by a myriad of factors related to an individual's particular
position in the socio/historical landscape, at a specific point in history.[7]
Although feminist standpoint theories assert that concepts
of knowledge are historically and sociologically variable, other features of
their arguments contradict this claim. However this approaches offers that, the
existence of a distinctive women's "perspective" that has
"privileged" insight into the nature of reality is tantamount to
asserting the existence of a uniform and universal women's experience that
generates this univocal vision. But this position ignores the social,
historical, and cultural differences between women. This view fails to explain
why some women see the truth and some do not. Faced with competing feminist
knowledge claims and political agendas, a universal women's standpoint theory
can have little adjudicating force. There is no homogeneous women's experience
and hence no singular women's standpoint.
FEMINIST POST-MODERNISM
The
third category of alternative epistemologies vying for feminist allegiance is
feminist post-modernism. These theories challenge the notion that there is such
a thing as objective reality to be structured. Given the situations of each
finite knower, and the various conditions which shape individual identities,
post-modern feminists are skeptical about the idea of any unitary women's
consciousness or unitary women's experience. These views reject all universal
or universalizing claims about existence, nature, and the powers of reason.
Post-modernists encourage instead "a commitment to plurality and the play
of difference", unhampered by any predetermined gender identity or
"authoritarian impulses of the will to truth".[8]
The attraction of feminist post-modernism is that it seems to hold out the
promise of an increased freedom for women. But it also tends to foster a
politically paralyzing relativist stance. To mobilize a social movement you
must offer a positive alternative, a vision of the better society towards which
you ask people to struggle. An ideology which claims only subjective veracity
can have little persuasive force for social change. These groups tend to pose
some certain kinds of questions in other to view the effects of various
discussions on patriarchy and women oppression and some of such questions are:
is feminism epistemology relevant to this present period or day?
THE
RELEVANCE OF FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY
The relevance of
feminist epistemology involves carving out space for specifically feminist
programs of inquiring, identifying or defending epistemic guidelines of
feminist inquiring. It is crystal clear from the above discuss that feminist
epistemology has a lot to impart in our contemporary time and this impart
varies in different dimensions such as: educational, political, legal,
economic, social and as well environmental aspect and condition for that
particular society or community. However in aspect of education, women are
indeed participating in formal education which will enable them to take up
professional duties. And most of the women that are advanced in education are
famous today in our country, like professor Bola Awe, Dr Okonjo Iweala, the
finance minister and coordinating minister of economy.
Furthermore, focusing
on the political realm, many women are participating in politics and
governmental issues with the aid of their knowledge. Initially women are denied
the right to vote or to be vote for, but the reverse is the case today, women
are found in different governmental sit.
Women are also
participating in different areas such as: sport, entertainment, industries,
economics, medicine etc and they have also contributed to the areas of
technology and one of such women is Maria Curie’s discovery of Radium Elements
in physics.
THE
DEMERITS OF FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY
Just as there are two
sides of every coin, Feminist epistemology also has its own negative sides and also
Feminist epistemology has both critical and constructive dimensions. The
critical dimensions of feminist epistemology are the demonstration of forms of
masculine bias as the heart of philosophical analyses of such topics as
objectivity, reason, knowledge and rationality. Many feminist want the reverse
of the whole situation, in which the woman would surpass the man, for them a
revolution is needed and men would be made subservient to women. This on its
own is calamity and when it is done it is a reverse of the entire issue which
they claim to abolish and it is another type of oppression.
Furthermore, those who
argue against marriage hold that women should be free from their traditional
roles as wives and mothers and that marriage should be seen as companionship
between men and women. And it could be said that women could still reproduce
children outside marriage. And if that is the done, there are various rights
and protection which would be denied them. And it may also lead to great
exploitation of women by men if they have no legal obligation towards them.
CONCLUSION/EVALUATION
Women are to a large
extend inhibited by restrictions imposed by tradition western epistemology
(masculine). They are often placed and kept at a disadvantage of no important
significance with men, in religion, politics, economic and lot more. And to
that great belief contemporary societies are to some extend male dominated and
although the degree and expression of female subordination is now fact of the
day.
However, as it is
commonly said; “what man can do woman can do it better” this has come to show
that gender inequality has no place to stay in the society. Following the
discuss from the above exposition, the very method and approach used must to
achieve equality be watched, so as not to use the improper means in order to
achieve that particular aim, which will at the end no favour the people and as
well the society as a whole. Therefore, the union between both must exist and
one sex discriminating against another.
BIBILOGRAPHY
1.
Anselm K. Jimoh, Certitude and Doubt: a Study Guide in Epistemology, Ibadan: Ebony
& Kreations publishers, 2013.
2.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-epistemology/
(18 of 36) [8/7/02 1:24:24 PM]
3.
Jaggar, Alison, feminist politics and Human Nature, New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld
Publishers, 1983.
4.
Robert Audi ed, The Cambridge Dictionary Of Philosophy, USA: Cambridge Publisher,
1999.
5.
http://www.Reci of feminist epistemology-Csasc.org/2005/journal/ea13pdf
accessed on 12 November 2014.
[1] Robert
Audi. The Cambridge Dictionary Of
Philosophy.ed (USA: Cambridge Publisher) 1999, p 305
[2]
Jaggar, Alison, feminist politics and
Human Nature, (New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld Publishers, 1983), p. 3
[3] Ibid p. 3
[4] Anselm
K. Jimoh, Certitude and Doubt: A Study
Guide in Epistemology, (Ibadan: Ebony & Kreations publishers, 2013), p
21
[6] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-epistemology/
(18 of 36) [8/7/02 1:24:24 PM]
[7] Ibid
P. 9
[8] Ibid
P 14
No comments:
Post a Comment