ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the question whether feminist analyses of science have anything to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between 'Western narratives of science' and forms of empirical knowledge produced by other cultures. The approach is exploratory and suggestive rather comprehensive or systematic. Sandra Harding ultimately stepped back from the edge of the relativist cliff; her flirtation with postmodern feminism has left lasting marks on her epistemology of science. She describes her present position as a postmodernist standpoint theory. Helen Longino's 'contextual empiricism' is generally regarded as the most sophisticated and best-developed form of feminist empiricism. The chapter discusses two of the issues just raised: the status of contextual values and the relationship between ethical and epistemic commitments in the assessment of science. Feminist empiricism retains fairly close ties to the projects of 'mainstream' philosophy of science even as it criticizes aspects of that tradition.