Sharif Digital Repository

Knowledge was traditionally understood as a one-sided foundation for all political action and, consequently, for political power. Since the late nineteenth century, however, it has been argued that political power and action also influence knowledge—and it was even suggested that power is, in fact, the sole factor shaping knowledge. Prominent advocates of this idea, such as Michel Foucault and Friedrich Nietzsche—whose thoughts profoundly influenced Foucault—employed the method of genealogy to examine historical case studies in an attempt to substantiate this claim. Yet, a critical examination of their arguments reveals that genealogy cannot support such a universal assertion. Hence, it is...