Feminism · Science · Sexism in science
Can There Be a Feminist Science? by Sandra Harding — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
1986271 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas
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What is Can There Be a Feminist Science? about?
"Can science, steeped in Western, masculine, bourgeois endeavors, nevertheless be used for emancipatory ends? In this major contribution to the debate over the role gender plays in the scientific enterprise, Sandra Harding pursues that question, challenging the intellectual and social foundations of scientific thought. Harding provides the first comprehensive and critical survey of the feminist science critiques, and examines inquiries into the androcentricism that has endured since the birth of modern science. Harding critiques three epistemological approaches: feminist empiricism, which identifies only bad science as the problem; the feminist standpoint, which holds that women's social experience provides a unique starting point for discovering masculine bias in science; and feminist postmodernism, which disputes the most basic scientific assumptions. She points out the tensions among these stances and the inadequate concepts that inform their analyses, yet maintains that the critical discourse they foster is vital to the quest for a science informed by emancipatory morals and politics."--Publisher description.
A glimpse inside
The Myth of Value-Free Science
Harding argues that the idea of science as wholly objective and detached from social values is a myth. She shows that scientific practices and theories have historically reflected the interests and perspectives of dominant groups—especially Western, masculine, and bourgeois interests. This challenges the assumption that science naturally produces universal truths, and invites readers to question whose values and experiences are embedded in scientific knowledge.
Three Feminist Epistemologies
The book critically examines three main feminist approaches to science: feminist empiricism, feminist standpoint theory, and feminist postmodernism. Feminist empiricism seeks to correct science by rooting out bias, assuming that better methods can fix sexism. Standpoint theory claims that women’s social positions offer a unique, more critical vantage point for understanding and exposing masculine bias in science. Feminist postmodernism, meanwhile, questions the very foundations of scientific rationality and objectivity, arguing that all knowledge is socially constructed and contingent.
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Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1The Myth of Value-Free Science
- 2Three Feminist Epistemologies
- 3Tensions and Limitations Within Feminist Critiques
- 4The Androcentrism of Scientific Inquiry
- 5The Possibility of Emancipatory Science
Frequently asked
"Can science, steeped in Western, masculine, bourgeois endeavors, nevertheless be used for emancipatory ends? In this major contribution to the debate over the role gender plays in the scientific enterprise, Sandra Harding pursues that question, challenging the intellectual and social foundations of scientific thought. Harding provides the first comprehensive and critical survey of the feminist sc