Epistemology in "On Feminist Epistemology," Uma Narayan Term Paper

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Epistemology

In "On Feminist Epistemology," Uma Narayan states, "Feminist epistemology is a particular manifestation of the general insight that the nature of women's experiences ... have been systematically ignored or misrepresented," (247-248). Women have, for instance, been barred from participating in certain key areas of discourse, such as politics and law. When women participate in certain key social activities, such as subsistence work like agriculture or cooking, their experiences are deemed unworthy, according to Narayan. Therefore, epistemology has traditionally been a male-centered area from which women have been purposefully excluded. Adding women's perspectives to any or all epistemological debates can result in massive paradigm shifts and much broader perspectives. Narayan asserts that a feminist epistemology, one that includes the voices and experiences of women as fundamental, will "change the very nature" of all the sciences as well as the nature of "self-understanding," (248).

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Among the most powerful paradigms to be challenged by the inclusion of feminist epistemology is the overpowering and ubiquitous dualism that is especially evident in Western societies. Such dualism tends to favor the masculine over the feminine, and by extension, everything associated with masculinity over everything associated with femininity. Narayan mentions, among others, the dualism between reason and emotion as one way female experiences and voices are silenced. In many cases, such distinctions and binaries are falsely created, anyway.

However, the difficulty with proposing a feminist epistemology is that gender is one of many factors influencing perception, cognition, consciousness, and experience. For example, perspectives are shaped largely by culture of origin, values, as well as religious beliefs. A feminist ideology can work in favor of all oppressed social groups; in fact, a feminist epistemology….....

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