A feminist approach

There is no objection (in principle) to identifying and engaging in approaches to systematic empirical inquiry that deploy strategies distinct from the materialist strategies (Chapter 5); and I have explored the motivation, prospects and implications of one alternative, the “grassroots empowerment” approach (Chapter 8). In this chapter, I explore another alternative approach, one whose strategies interact in mutually reinforcing ways with “feminist” values. Again, provided that the distinction of the roles of the values and the cognitive values is respected, this alternative need not involve bringing values to bear on scientific claims in any way that is logically different from that involved when the materialist strategies are adopted.