Dec. 5th - Epistemology Flashcards
1
Q
Epistemology
A
- A theory of knowing or knowledge (Sprague, 2005, p. 31)
- How do we know what we know? How does knowing happen? How is it organized?
- How do we go about choosing one account or explanation over another?
- How is knowing enabled and constrained?
- Involves assumptions about the knower, the known, and the relationship
2
Q
Four common epistemological orientations
A
- Positivist
- Critical realist
- Standpoint
- Radical social constructionist
3
Q
Four common epistemological orientations
Positivist - Assumptions
A
MOST COMMON - but often taken for granted
- The world is governed by underlying regularities and natural laws
- The Truth exists (is fixed/set in place; capital T means an ABSOLUTE TRUTH) and can be uncovered through systematic observation
- An absolute truth requires objectivity: good science is value-free
- Observer’s personality and feelings introduce errors
- Personal values minimized by scientific methods
- Replicability is a key component!
4
Q
Positivist - Relationship between the knower and the known:
A
- The knower and the known must be completely separate
- The* identity, experiences and interests* of the knower should not influence their process of knowing
- All knowers see the known in the same way: E.g., statistical analysis of data should not be influenced by who the researcher is
5
Q
Four common epistemological orientations
Standpoint - Assumptions
A
- Knowing always happens from somewhere: history, culture, interests, physical location…
- Our perspectives are informed by
- Our social locations (e.g., class, race, gender, sexual orientation)
- Being marginalized or privileged
- Our daily experiences
- Academic research privileges some standpoints over others
- EX: majority of modern/past accomplished scholars are white, heterosexual men
- Some marginalized groups are routinely
6
Q
Standpoint - Relationship between the knower and the known:
A
- The knower: every knower has a particular vantage point
- Important to ask: “WHAT’S MINE?”
- The known: differs depending on who is doing the knowing, and when and how they do it
- The process of knowing: partial, local and historically specific
7
Q
Four common epistemological orientations
Radical Social Constructionism - Assumptions
A
- Natural laws do not exist for the social sciences
- Institutions produce the social world that they claim to only study
- Social scientific classifying, labeling, diagnosing, and treating groups and individuals actually creates those individuals and groups:
§ Who they are
§ How they understand themselves
§ How others see and treat them
8
Q
Radical Social Constructionism - Relationship Between Knower/Known
A
- The knower produces the known through the process of knowing
- Radical implications: everything we know is a product of our perception
9
Q
Four common epistemological orientations
Critical Realism - Assumptions
A
- The world exists independently of our thinking about it
- There are patterns to the way the world works (not random)
- Scientific rationality is** imperfect and limited** but the best option
- The world is complex and changing: (psychological) phenomena have multiple causes
- Knowledge generation = ongoing collaborative community project
- The more research we do, the closer we get to understanding patterns; to A truth (not THE truth), as it’s always changing
- Scientific understandings improve over time
10
Q
Critical Realism - Relationship between the knower and the known:
A
- The knower: shaped and limited by the discourses of culture and science
- The known: complex and changing (will never be more than an increasingly accurate approximation of reality)
- The process of knowing: mediated by culture and scientific tools but amenable to adjustment and increasing refinement
