This gendered character of knowing is extremely limiting and prescriptive, leading to toxic reproductions of gender-stereotypes and a narrow selection of ‘appropriate’ knowledge-practices....Show moreThis gendered character of knowing is extremely limiting and prescriptive, leading to toxic reproductions of gender-stereotypes and a narrow selection of ‘appropriate’ knowledge-practices. Additionally, it makes us all, men and women, miss out on certain paths to knowledge and leads to an imbalanced community of knowers, favoring the rational approach to research and associating kinds of intellectual work with men and marginalizing kinds of research and knowledge that are understood as ‘female’. Therefore, I believe, we are in need of a new framework of knowing that: a) does not ascribe gender to any way of knowing, b) does not propagate a male-female dichotomy and hierarchy, c) includes all genders in all operations and modes of knowledge and can be used by all genders and d) allows for non-toxic, fluid and free manifestations of gender based on epistemological practices. How can we construct such a new and non-gendered framework of knowledge? After explaining the problem and some core issues in the first chapter, the second chapter will introduce the relevant work done in the field of modern feminist epistemology. Its naturalized branch will especially help us construct a new knowledge-framework. In the third chapter, we will explain the Confucian concept of the ‘heart-mind’ and its relevance for this new framework of knowing, before fleshing out this framework in more detail in the final chapter. With a constructive comparative approach and a creative handling of the concepts we will ground our framework in naturalized feminist epistemology and employ the Confucian ‘heart-mind’ as a personal and practical locus of non-gendered knowing that addresses all the criteria (a-d) of our solution above.Show less
