Objectiveness intertwined with masculinity, or, the language of science from a feminist perspective Cover Image

Obiektywność spleciona z męskością, czyli o języku nauki z perspektywy feministycznej
Objectiveness intertwined with masculinity, or, the language of science from a feminist perspective

Author(s): Aleksandra Derra
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Philosophy of science; Feminism; Gender; Stereotypes

Summary/Abstract: A presentation of the main assumptions and objectives of feminist philosophy of science, as formulated in the feminist empiricism and feminist standpoint theories. Underlined is their shared starting point: science-based knowledge being approached as a socially-constructed collective project in which the values accepted in our culture may be found. Feminist (and female) scholars ask questions of how science reinforces configurations of the basic categories (e.g. rationality – objectivity – masculinity), and how gender stereotypes inform or affect scientific theories. The ‘gender-related status’ of science manifests itself in its institutional structure (with a prevalence of the male element) as well as in the language and metaphors of scientific theories. The scholar takes a closer look at the gender structure of the major Polish science-related institutions, along with the formulations assumed by selected scientific theories (e.g. biological concepts of insemination, evolutionary research on the origins of humans).

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 49-68
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish