A Defense of Ignorance
Its Value for Knowers and Roles in Feminist and Social Epistemologies- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2011
Summary
A Defense of Ignorance develops new ideas in feminist epistemology by exploring diverse and sometimes positive roles for ignorance. Cynthia Townley argues that epistemic values cannot simply be reduced to the value of increasing knowledge and that ignorance is not merely inescapable for epistemic agents, but, rather, is valuable. Townley shows that ignorance-friendly epistemology offers a better descriptive and normative account of human epistemic practices. This interpretation challenges the traditional assumption that increasing knowledge is the definitive epistemic goal. The book makes a major contribution to revisionary epistemology and to the expanding fields of social epistemology and feminist epistemology. All social scientists stand to benefit from Townley's analysis, most of all those interested in knowledge and in feminist scholarship.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2011
- ISBN-Print
- 978-0-7391-5105-1
- ISBN-Online
- 978-0-7391-6818-9
- Publisher
- Lexington, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 127
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- Preface No access
- Introduction: Ignorance Matters No access
- 1 Epistemic Dependence: Beyond Facts No access Pages 1 - 22
- 2 Ignorance and the Interdependence of Epistemic Agents No access Pages 23 - 54
- 3 Institutional Epistemic Dependence No access Pages 55 - 86
- 4 Ignorance, Arrogance, and Pluralism No access Pages 87 - 112
- Conclusion No access Pages 113 - 116
- Bibliography No access Pages 117 - 122
- Index No access Pages 123 - 126
- About the Author No access Pages 127 - 127





