Sandra Harding's Strong Objectivity: Feminist Standpoint Theory

This essay delves into Sandra Harding's account of strong objectivity within feminist standpoint theory, exploring its strengths and weaknesses in the context of knowledge production. It highlights Harding's view that objectivity can be achieved by individuals who are socially aware and that traditional science is a valuable tool for eliminating social values. The essay also addresses criticisms, such as the potential for bad science if too much authority is exercised in knowledge production and the argument that Harding's perspective on knowledge production communities may be overly optimistic. Ultimately, the essay concludes that Harding's account emphasizes the importance of social awareness in knowledge production and seeks to broaden its scope through interrogation and self-reflection.

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The feminist standpoint theory is the center of the studies conducted regarding women.
Actually, this theory lately the theory was used to prescribe circles in women studies. This theory
considers the lives as honored places of production of knowledge as it focuses on marginal lives
or women thinking (Harding, 2004 p.50). There are three accounts of feminist standpoint theory as
outlined by Sandra Harding. However, the account of strong objectivity where Sandra Harding
argue that the objective strength of the theory is the perception that knowledge is socially
situated. Therefore, the strengths and weaknesses of the account are accessed in a theoretical
approach to the construction of knowledge.
To start with the strengths, Harding views that objectivity can be attained by individuals
who are alert socially. Also, Harding accepts that the traditional science is a significant tool that
can be employed to eliminate the social values to ensure that experiments can show similar
outcomes across cultures. Clearly, Harding employs several dimensions to the account to acquire
knowledge foundation and avoid being skeptical. Moreover, Harding upholds that the niche
existing between the theory and evidence are filled by the individual politics, agendas, as well as
social values. In addition, Harding views that people move close to maximize objectivity if the
gaps of some social groups are filled with cognitive gaps from others. The theorist suggests that
it is important if knowledge is produced in an inclusive perspective where the knowledge of
individual communities can be molded. Finally, another strength of the strength objectivity in
regard to the argument that knowledge is socially situated is that people should be aware of
social bias as it guides towards attaining security for individual knowledge production
(Freundlich, 2016 p.2017). Moreover, the individual awareness of social bias help in minimizing
the personal bias in the case of production of objective knowledge.

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On the other hand, the weaknesses of the strength objective account that knowledge is
socially situated is that if people exercise too much authority in knowledge production, it may
result in bad science. Also, Harding may not be like other postmodern feminists as some do not
support the standpoint for knowledge production. Also, Harding argues about objectivity and at
the same time think that people have too many biases which hinder them from seeing reality as it
is. Moreover, another weakness is that Harding views knowledge production community as too
weak implying that it may fail to eliminate and uncover the social interests, values, and agendas.
To summarize, the account of strength objectivity that knowledge is socially situated
views that knowledge production can be easy only if people are aware of the social situation.
Harding’s argument is seconded through standpoint epistemology which supports that
knowledge is socially situated. Clearly, the account for strengths objectivity is associated with
various strengths and weaknesses in the context of Sandra Harding as outlined in this paper. This
account seeks to broaden its scope by including interrogation and self-reflection in regard to any
knowledge producing community. However, in reviewing to Harding’s argument it is clear that
individuals are connected to their social situations and cannot be separated from the physical
world.

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Bibliography
Freundlich, A., 2016. Feminist standpoint epistemology and objectivity. Retrieved January, 9,
p.2017.
Harding, S.G.., 2004. The feminist standpoint theory reader: Intellectual and political
controversies. Psychology Press.