‘Epistemological diversity’ in education: Philosophical and didactic considerations

Kai Horsthemke

doi:10.21697/fp.2017.1.18

Published: 2017-04-04

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2017)

‘Epistemological diversity’ in education: Philosophical and didactic considerations

Kai Horsthemke

Pedagogical Forum

Section: Colloquia

https://doi.org/10.21697/fp.2017.1.18

Abstract

A recent but widespread view holds that ethnic or cultural groups have their own distinctive epistemologies, that epistemologies are also gendered, and that these have been largely ignored by the dominant social group. A corollary of this view states that educational research is pursued within a framework that represents particular assumptions about knowledge and knowledge production that reflect the interests and historical traditions of this dominant group. The call for epistemological diversity becomes problematic when it conflates epistemological pluralism and epistemological relativism. More often than not, in such arguments for different, diverse, alternative, decolonized or demasculinized epistemologies some relevant philosophical issues remain unresolved, if not unaddressed altogether. What exactly do these claims about epistemological diversity mean? Do these ways of establishing knowledge stand up to critical interrogation? Moreover, how do they relate to traditional epistemological distinctions, e.g. between knowledge and belief and between descriptive and normative inquiry, and to epistemologically essential components like warrant/justification and truth? This paper examines some of the mistakes and misconceptions involved in appeals to diverse epistemologies. The concern is not just whether or not a word (‘epistemology’) is being misused, but also (and importantly) whether or not the issues dealt with in epistemology (a complex field that has evolved over a long period of time) are being given short shrift, if not ignored altogether.

Keywords:

Educational research, epistemological diversity, pluralism, relativism

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Horsthemke, K. (2017). ‘Epistemological diversity’ in education: Philosophical and didactic considerations. Pedagogical Forum, 7(1), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.21697/fp.2017.1.18

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Kai Horsthemke

kai.horsthemke@gmail.com

Affiliation:

Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Germany

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

teaches philosophy of education at KU Eichstätt in Germany. He is also a visiting professor in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and a fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. Since 2004, he has published extensively on African philosophy, indigenous knowledge systems, and animal ethics. He is the author of two books: The moral status and right of animals (Porcupine Press, 2010) and Animals and African ethics (Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), and the co-editor of Education studies (Oxford University Press South Africa, 2013 and 2016 [2^nd ed.]). E-mail-Address: kai.horsthemke@gmail.com.