Institutional Epistemology Research Articles

Towards Progressive Multilateralism: Decoding the Trilemma of State, Democracy, and Globalisation

Institutions have long been influenced by their idiographic milieu. Western liberal institutions, grounded in liberal internationalism, often negate the institutional epistemology that advocates for diversity in the structural reform of Multilateral Institutions. Neo-liberal institutions, however, promote ontological tendencies in multilateral institutions. Decoding the functioning of the state, democracy and globalisation offers insights into restructuring the multilateral institutions (MIs). The study uses regression analysis to know the functioning of the state, democracy and globalisation in the countries of the global South and global North. Social determinism helps recognise and deconstruct ontological MIs. G-20, a conglomeration of developing and developed countries, is better positioned to make consensus through consultative, collaborative and decisive processes amid competing interests and ideologies. The study finds the variables of political trilemma vary contrary to neo-liberal prescriptions of reducing government size to encourage trade openness & liberal democracy. Moreover, the study refuted the notion that democracy leads to trade openness and the concurrent relationship between government size and democracy. These findings present a strong case to rethink and restructure multilateralism and MIs.

TO THE QUESTION ON THE SUBJECT AND CONTENT OF INSTITUTIONAL EPISTEMOLOGY

The paper is devoted to the problem of institutional epistemology as a new interdisciplinary direction in contemporary science. The concept “institutional epistemology” should be connected with the concept “social epistemology”, but it is necessary to remind social epistemology is theory of knowledge of social reality, where in focus of research are society and social interaction. A term “institutional epistemology” is a scientific metaphor, — while, for instance, a term “social epistemology” used in its directed significance. It is not realized parallels between concepts “institutional epistemology” and “institutional ontology”, because they used in different contexts. Institutional epistemology is research of formal and informal aspects of production of social knowledge; a study of a social; epistemologist as a “cognitive manager of knowledge” in contemporary society; research of different ways of constituting social-epistemological knowledge through social institutions elaborating this knowledge

Democracy and emergency: finding the constitutional foundation of the knowledgeable state in social dynamics

AbstractThis article aims to bring to light the law–society dynamic relationship in constitutional governance by engaging with the question of political constitutionalism from the perspective of institutional epistemology. It first reframes the debate surrounding legal and political constitutionalism as one concerning the state's ‘epistemic competence’ in governance shaped by the constitution, and then traces how constitutional ordering has given rise to the ‘knowledgeable state’ by setting a unique social dynamic in motion: the ‘epistemico‐political constitution’. Using the example of the World Health Organization's initial response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, a the article presents a two‐part argument. First, constitutional ordering institutes a process of knowledge production embedded in the interaction between the state and society – a unique law–society dynamic – that responds to governance needs. Second, given the current law–society dynamic in the suprastate political landscape, the legitimacy challenge facing expertise‐steered global governance is further intensified as more crisis responses are expected from outside the state.

Views from nowhere, somewhere and everywhere else: The tragedy of the horizon in the early Anthropocene

The ability to anticipate, plan for and adapt to the changes of the early Anthropocene is limited by human behaviour, political inertia, and short-termism. This ‘tragedy of the horizon’ is explored through three specific lenses on early Anthropocene futures. We begin with the dominant scientific evidence: mathematical and probabilistic modelling synthesised into increasingly rigorous and sophisticated scenarios for assessing policy options and broadening societal understanding. We then draw on the set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols through which people imagine their social whole in what Sheila Jasanoff describes as sociotechnical imaginaries. We also draw on institutional epistemologies as reflected in two global assessment initiatives: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has been described as a ‘view from nowhere’, and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, a ‘view from everywhere’, though analysis has concluded that both organisations merely offer ‘views from somewhere’. We then present examples of other early Anthropocene imaginaries from writers, activists, and philosophers. The arc through these suggests both common themes and broad variation in underlying assumptions and world views. We argue that, especially in a post-truth world, a much richer form of (re)visioning the future is required in a project that must span far beyond the biophysical and include the full breadth of the social sciences and humanities. Without the inclusion of multiple underlying, competing, and creative long-term perspectives, society in general, and research in particular, may not adequately illuminate the complex possible future trajectories.

Epistemologia stosowania prawa a zasada demokratycznego państwa prawnego

The paper analyses the institutional epistemology of the process of application of law in Poland. The concept of institutional epistemology is understood as a set of features, epistemic aims, values, and practices, which are intrinsic to the institutional structures. Two aspects of such an institutional epistemology are covered: the positivistic model of cognition and the concept of truth embedded in the judicial practices and legal norms. The philosophical and historical origins of these features are outlined. It is argued that they should be considered relics of previous socio-political system and obsolete philosophies of science, and, in consequence, they do not meet the standards of the constitutional principle of the democratic rule-of-law state (Polish demokratyczne państwo prawne). Evolution towards more deliberative forms of institutional epistemology is advocated.

Knowing like a global expert organization: Comparative insights from the IPCC and IPBES

In this paper we draw on Science and Technology (STS) approaches to develop a comparative analytical account of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The establishment of both of these organizations, in 1988 and 2012 respectively, represented important ‘constitutional moments’ in the global arrangement of scientific assessment and its relationship to environmental policymaking. Global environmental assessments all share some similarities, operating at the articulation between science and policy and pursuing explicit societal goals. Although the IPCC and IPBES have different objectives, they are both intergovernmental processes geared towards the provision of knowledge to inform political debates about, respectively, climate change and biodiversity loss. In spite of these similarities, we show that there are significant differences in their knowledge practices and these differences have implications for environmental governance. We do this by comparing the IPCC and IPBES across three dimensions: conceptual frameworks, scenarios and consensus .We argue that, broadly speaking, the IPCC has produced a ‘view from nowhere’, through a reliance on mathematical modelling to produce a consensual picture of global climate change, which is then ‘downscaled’ to considerations of local impacts and responses. By contrast IPBES, through its contrasting conceptual frameworks and practices of argumentation, appears to seek a ‘view from everywhere’, inclusive of epistemic plurality, and through which a global picture emerges through an aggregation of more placed-based knowledges. We conclude that, despite these aspirations, both organizations in fact offer ‘views from somewhere’: situated sets of knowledge marked by politico-epistemic struggles and shaped by the interests, priorities and voices of certain powerful actors. Characterizing this ‘somewhere’ might be aided by the concept of institutional epistemology, a term we propose to capture how particular knowledge practices become stabilized within international expert organizations. We suggest that such a concept, by drawing attention to the institutions’ knowledge practices, helps reveal their world-making effects and, by doing so, enables more reflexive governance of both expert organizations and of global environmental change in general.

A noção de obstáculo didático institucional

As pesquisas sobre os obstáculos na aprendizagem da Matemática demonstram uma variedade de classificações, como as de ordem ontogenética, didática e epistemológica elencadas por Brousseau. Ainda existem contribuições de outros pesquisadores como os obstáculos emocionais e linguísticos. Nesse sentido, temos como objetivo caracterizar o Obstáculo Didático Institucional a partir de elementos que compõem as epistemologias institucionais presentes no ensino da Matemática em turmas do primeiro e segundo segmentos do ensino fundamental em relação ao objeto fração. Para alcançar esse objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa de caráter bibliográfico. O resultado da pesquisa evidencia a existência de diferença na abordagem de ensino de fração entre os segmentos. Isto é denominado de Epistemologia Institucional, que se configura como um obstáculo didático no aprendizado de fração para os alunos que iniciam o segundo segmento do ensino fundamental. Em conclusão, apresentamos a Destransposição Didática como alternativa para enfrentar os obstáculos na transição.

Ignorance, norms and instrumental pluralism: Hayekian institutional epistemology

Building on Friedrich A. Hayek’s work in social philosophy, the paper gives an account of the central role of ignorance in institutional epistemology. The first part of the paper argues that if individuals involved in the search for knowledge are constitutionally ignorant and guided by norms, as Hayek saw them, they are more likely to attain knowledge if they follow different norms, including those that are redundant. The second part of the paper argues that the market as an institutional arrangement, preferred by Hayek for its epistemic features, may lead to an epistemically detrimental reduction of agents following redundant norms.

Comparative standard in institutional epistemology

Which epistemic value is the standard according to which we ought to compare, assess and design institutional arrangements in terms of their epistemic properties? Two main options are agent development (in terms of individual epistemic virtues or capabilities) and attainment of truth. The options are presented through two authoritative contemporary accounts-agent development by Robert Talisse?s understanding in Democracy and Moral Conflict (2009) and attainment of truth by David Estlund?s treatment, most prominently in Democratic Authority: A Philosophical Framework (2008). Both options are shown to be unsatisfactory because they are subject to problematic risk of suboptimal epistemic state lock-in. The ability of the social epistemic system to revise suboptimal epistemic states is argued to be the best option for a comparative standard in institutional epistemology.

A contribuição da avaliação in loco como fator de consolidação dos principios estruturantes do SINAES

O artigo versa sobre a contribuição de avaliação in loco no sentido de promover a consolidação dos princípios norteadores do SINAES a partir de uma reflexão construtiva entre os consultores ad hoc e a instituição. A digressão teórica elenca aspectos relacionados a construção da identidade institucional, a partir da contribuição da avaliação e o retrospecto da avaliação institucional no Brasil. Elenca, ainda uma reflexão sobre o modelo do SINAES e os princípios estruturantes e norteadores do Sistema, destacando a contribuição do processo de avaliação in loco na construção da epistemologia institucional. Para tanto, as interações metodológicas ocorrem sob as bases da pesquisa acadêmica, de caráter documental indireto e que se classifica como sendo descritiva-explicativa, predominantemente qualitativa e designada como sendo uma pesquisa participante. As investigações construtivistas permitem concluir, entre outros desígnios, que do ponto de vista dos avaliadores ad hoc os aspectos que determinam o cumprimento dos princípios estruturantes do SINAES no contexto da avaliação institucional das instituições de educação superior no Brasil ensejam uma relação construtivista, democrática e de aprendizado mutuo e continuo entre avaliadores e a própria instituição, a qual é a responsável pela consolidação destes princípios no âmbito do ensino superior brasileiro.

Faculty Development in Community Colleges: Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching the Teachers

This article stems from a qualitative inquiry research project that examined the significant experiences of adult educators. For this article we explore the experiences of our faculty educator participants working within the community college context and examine the ways in which their practice connects to faculty development literature. Key insights gleaned from this research highlight both challenges and opportunities that college faculty developers face today. Our findings call for community college leaders and teachers to more effectively explore the ways in which personal, professional, and institutional epistemologies interact in order to better support learning.Keywords: faculty development, qualitative inquiry, community college.

Self and continuing professional learning (development): issues of curriculum and identity in developing academic practice

Even as the notion of continuing professional learning or development (CPL) in academic practice has become more established, the concept of curriculum and the nature of the learning involved remains problematic. We argue for a focus on transformation of self, and posit this as an expanded version of one established curriculum model. Through a case study of a participant in one graduate programme offered as CPL for clinical medical academics wanting to formalise their educational qualifications, this paper explores ways in which prevailing institutional management orthodoxies as well as historical institutional epistemologies influence possibilities for growth and development. We suggest that institutions need to find ways to strengthen their sense of identity and self-confidence if this situation is to improve.

Liberalism and Epistemic Diversity: Mill's Sceptical Legacy

ABSTRACTAlthough John Stuart Mill places considerable emphasis on three information signalling devices – debate, votes and prices – he remains curiously sceptical about the prospects of institutional or social epistemology. In this paper, I explore Mill's modest scepticism about institutional epistemology and compare and contrast that with the attitudes of liberal theorists such as F. A. Hayek and John Dewey who are much more enthusiastic about the prospects of social epistemology as part of their defences of liberalism. The paper examines the extent to which Hayek and Dewey ignore concerns originally raised by Mill. I conclude that Mill's modest scepticism is reflected in the epistemological abstinence of contemporary liberal philosophers such as John Rawls, and that his elevation of philosophy over democracy remains a challenge to contemporary defenders of the political value of social or institutional epistemology.

Deconstructing Graeme: Observations on "pragmatic psychology," forensics and the institutional epistemology of the courts.

Deconstructing Graeme: Observations on "pragmatic psychology," forensics and the institutional epistemology of the courts.

‘What makes you a scientist is the way you look at things’: ornithology and the observer 1930–1955

In the late 1930s networks of amateur observers across Britain were collecting data on birds (British Trust for Ornithology), aircraft (Royal Observer Corps) and society itself (Mass Observation). This paper concentrates on birdwatching practice in the period 1930–1955. Through an examination of the construction of birdwatching's subjects, the Observers, and their objects, birds, it is argued that amateur strategies of scientific observation and record reflected, and were part-constitutive of, particular versions of ecological, national and social identity in this period. The paper examines how conflicts between a rural, organicist Britishness and a modern, planner-preservationist Britishness were elaborated and contained within the figure of the birdwatcher and within the institutional epistemologies of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology. Such conflicts are shown to be embedded in the structuring of visual perception in different strategies of bird and aircraft identification, particularly between analytic and gestalt methods; the paper examines, using the related ‘field-science’ of aircraft recognition, the importance of identificatory processes in the construction of the Observer, and concludes by examining whether tensions between organicist and scientific discourses were in any sense resolved by the end of this period.