Features of Feminist Approach to Scientific Research

Abstract

Feminist philosophy is one of the leading areas of contemporary philosophy. It has been actively developing over decades and has significant contributions in various areas of theoretical and practical philosophy. Feminist philosophy of science is particularly interesting, as it is primarily responsible for feminist formulations of basic methodological statements of feminist approach to scientific research. The goal of this article is to determine the main features of feminist approach to scientific research. In order to achieve this goal, the article analyzes the main ideas of feminist philosophy of science regarding the criticism of the ideal of value-free science, reviewing and rethinking the meaning of objectivity, and reflections on feminist methodology. Accordingly, the article consists of an introduction, three parts, and conclusion. The first part is dedicated to the causes and effects of feminist criticism of the value-free ideal of science. In the second part, feminist reflections about objectivity are outlined, drawing on the views of such prominent feminist philosophers as Sandra Harding, Helen Longino, Elisabeth Lloyd, and Heather Douglas. The relevance of these reflections for feminist historiography of philosophy is also noted. The third part addresses the question of whether there is a feminist method and explores the traits and typical properties of a feminist methodology. In conclusion, the main features of feminist approach to scientific research are formulated. These include attention to the role of values in producing and applying scientific knowledge, a preference to explanations that account for details and complexity over simplification and generalization, consideration of women’s experience, consideration of usefulness of diversity within scientific communities to mitigate assumptions and prejudices, belief is compatibility of objectivity and value-ladenness, openness to criticism, and self-reflection.