Explaining epistemological violence and its consequences in psychology and the human sciences

Using Holzkamp’s Theory and Experiment from 1964, it is argued that the problem of the relationship of theoretical and empirical propositions has not been addressed, let alone solved, within mainstream psychology. The focus of this presentation is on the critical impact of Holzkamp’s methodological analyses for research on the Other.

The concept of epistemological violence (EV) is introduced as it relates to the theoretical interpretation of empirical data obtained from scientific research on the Other. Epistemological violence is a practice that is executed in empirical articles and books in psychology, when theoretical interpretations regarding empirical results implicitly or explicitly construct the Other as inferior or problematic, despite the fact that alternative interpretations, equally viable based on the data, are available. Interpretations of inferiority or problematizations are never determined by empirical results; yet, they have a negative impact on the Other.  The term violence denotes that this ‘knowledge’ has a negative impact on the Other or that the theoretical interpretations are produced to the detriment of the Other. The negative impact can range from misrepresentations and distortions to a neglect of the voices of the Other, to propositions of inferiority, and to the recommendations of adverse practices or infringements concerning the Other. The epistemological part suggests that these theoretical interpretations are framed as knowledge about the Other when in reality they are interpretations regarding data. Using current examples from mainstream psychology the relevance of the concept for critical analyses is discussed.

Bemerkung: Workshopsprache deutsch – Präsentationsfolien in englisch.