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The Effect of Political Power and Political Action on the Evolution of Knowledge

Namdar Ayoubi, Arsha | 2024

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 58362 (42)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Philosophy of Science
  6. Advisor(s): Taheri Khorramabadi, Ali
  7. Abstract:
  8. 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 necessary to pursue a necessary, universal, and definitive formulation of the influence of politics on knowledge, which can be achieved through an analytical engagement with the issue, as well as with the works of Foucault and Nietzsche. The ideas developed by John Searle in the philosophy of society over the past three decades offer significant potential for formulating various aspects of political power based on linguistic communication. Searle’s earlier work had already focused on language, and his pre-1990s writings established a comprehensive philosophy of language, largely inspired by the ideas of his teacher, J.L. Austin. These ideas, which draw upon the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, reject foundationalism and the immutability of language, thereby enabling an explanation of the evolution of language itself. Moreover, the emphasis in later Wittgenstein on the use of language—further developed in the theories of Austin and Searle—combined with Searle’s formulation of social realities, including power and political action, provides a tool for ontological and epistemological engagement with them. This, in turn, allows for an explanation of their inherent influence on and relationship with human knowledge
  9. Keywords:
  10. Genealogy ; Social Reality ; Philosophy of Society ; Knowledge\Power ; Language Games

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