Dr. Karyn Freedman
Areas of Feminist Research: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science.
I am an analytic philosopher. My main research interests are epistemological, but my philosophical point of view is feminist. My personal commitment to feminism was borne from the shock of the range and depth of global gender inequality and a desire to do something about it. My philosophical interest in feminism, however, is motivated by theoretical reasons. I am persuaded by the feminist notion that our philosophical theories come up short when we fail to account for our own standpoint as well as that of the subject of inquiry. Thus, whether I am investigating the conditions of justified belief, taking up questions about epistemic responsibility, or exploring the epistemology of recalcitrant emotions, my theoretical starting point is with a socially situated subject and our everyday epistemic practices. This feminist perspective has resulted in important and novel results in epistemology in the pioneering work of Lorraine Code, for instance, and more recently in Miranda Fricker’s work on epistemic injustice. I hope to be able to contribute to this rich and flourishing research tradition.