Abstract

Few attempts to deduce political consequences from theories of knowledge succeed. Disputes about truth, objectivity, and the status of social scientific claims are, at best, indirectly related to politics. This is my negative argument against philosophers who impute direct links between politics and epistemology. Chapters One and Two analyze the debate between objectivist and social constructionist theories of knowledge. I argue that aspects of traditional epistemology are compatible with a social reorientation to knowledge and that such a reorientation lacks its purported political significance. Chapter Three concerns the politics of social scientific method, paying special attention to hermeneutics. ;My scepticism about the relevance of epistemology to politics is limited to arguments which attempt to establish a necessary correspondence between these areas. Theories of knowledge may, however, be significant in shaping political views and vice versa. I outline in Chapter Five the several ways in which epistemology and politics may be related. Whether such connections are productive or obfuscatory is an empirical matter. Epistemology may be useful for revealing the ways in which claims about knowledge obscure or illegitimately authorize political views, and it may also inform political theory in a positive way. ;Chapter Four defends a version of standpoint epistemology as a theory which is able to unify epistemology and politics. Standpoint theory combines objectivism with a situated conception of knowledge. Accordingly, political insights regarding the structure, motivation, and justification of inquiry contribute to the development of a theory of knowledge. Conversely, political commitments to democracy and pluralism are supported by the belief that knowledge is determined by local conditions and subjective experiences. ;Chapter Six and Seven explore the constructive uses of standpoint theory for political argument and contrast these with less useful epistemological interventions. Chapter Six focuses on issues of democracy, pluralism, and social institutions . The final chapter explores ways in which standpoint theory aids in conceiving intellectual responsibility: it is in the practical sphere of pedagogy, I argue, that the primary political significance of intellectual work is found.