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The demise of grand narratives? Postmodernism, power-knowledge, and applied epistemology
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posted on 2018-09-10, 00:00 authored by Matthew SharpeThis chapter introduces postmodern epistemology by focusing on Lyotard’s now- canonical “report on knowledge”, The Postmodern Condition. In section 1 , I examine the social and historical bases of Lyotard’s claims concerning “knowledge in highly advanced societies.” In section 2 , I turn to his claims about the alleged proliferation of “language games” in these societies. In section 3 , I look specifically at Lyotard’s
“applied” claims concerning the “scientific language game,” undermining its claims to epistemic difference, over “traditional” or “narrative” forms of knowledge. Section 4 then looks at the resulting epistemic relativism Lyotard defends in The Postmodern Condition : an “agonistics” (16) which assigns positive value to the “paralogical” disruption of existing forms
of consensual knowledge, over traditional epistemic norms like truth, verisimilitude, simplicity, falsifiability, etc. In section 5 , I look at one instance of what a postmodern, paralogical “applied epistemology” looks like: the famous case of Pierre Rivière as analyzed by Michel
Foucault in the early 1970s.
“applied” claims concerning the “scientific language game,” undermining its claims to epistemic difference, over “traditional” or “narrative” forms of knowledge. Section 4 then looks at the resulting epistemic relativism Lyotard defends in The Postmodern Condition : an “agonistics” (16) which assigns positive value to the “paralogical” disruption of existing forms
of consensual knowledge, over traditional epistemic norms like truth, verisimilitude, simplicity, falsifiability, etc. In section 5 , I look at one instance of what a postmodern, paralogical “applied epistemology” looks like: the famous case of Pierre Rivière as analyzed by Michel
Foucault in the early 1970s.
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Title of book
The Routledge handbook of applied epistemologyChapter number
24Pagination
318 - 331Publisher
RoutledgePlace of publication
New York, N.Y.ISBN-13
9781138932654Language
engPublication classification
B1 Book chapterCopyright notice
2018, RoutledgeEditor/Contributor(s)
David Coady, James ChaseUsage metrics
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