SANDRA HARDING: FEMINIST SCIENCE CRITICISM I. Introduction (274) A. looks at interaction between gender symbolism and science (q.v.) 1. battle between the genders has influenced conceptions of nature and inquiry (275, q.v.) 2. science has aided male domination B. also looks at social construction of not only gender but sex differences (274) II. Should the History and Philosophy of Science be X-Rated? A. Writings by scientists and philosophers assume their audience is male (274-5) B. Use models and metaphors that reveal misogynous attitudes (q.v.) II.I Historical Images (275) A. Bacon's use of rape and torture metaphors 1. see for example bottom of p. 277 2. this is his way of discussing the need for repeatable experiments (277-8) B. historians and philosophers have dismissed such metaphors as irrelevant (275) C. however, she argues, they have taken the machine metaphors in the seventeenth century seriously (275) 1. they claim that the machine metaphor has directed inquiry in fruitful ways (275) 2. "presumably" the gender metaphor, in which nature is understood as a woman waiting to be ravished, was fruitful for science as well (276) 3. so why not refer to Newton's laws as "Newton's rape manual" instead of "Newton's mechanics"? D. Gender metaphors were used to make new conceptions of nature and inquiry required for experimentation and technology more acceptable (q.v.) 1. the older, medieval and early Renaissance world view, in which nature was conceived as alive and part of God's domain, was inappropriate for experimentation and technological application of science a. for instance, in the sixteenth century people made an issue whether it was morally appropriate to subject mother earth to such technologies as mining b. eventually the moral sanctions against "violating the body" of mother earth died away as the practices of modern science and technology became more common 2. Carolyn Merchant lists five changes in late renaissance thought that were a part of this gendered scientific world view a. the Copernican revolution replaced a woman-centered with a man-centered universe (276) 1.) nature, especially the earth, had been regarded as both a nurturing mother and a wild, uncontrollable woman 2.) after Copernicus, the womanly earth is an insignificant planet orbiting the masculine sun b. active power in the universe came to be associated with masculinity and passivity with femininity, whereas active power used to be associated with the nurturing mother earth c. the heavens as well as the earth came to be seen as capable of change (277) 1.) nature was seen as wild and unruly 2.) thus our fate was seen as uncertain 3.) hence Machiavelli's metaphor of subduing lady luck by force d. our fate was also perceived as uncertain because of the breakdown of social order in the same period 1.) perhaps women's increased visibility in religion and politics was seen as threatening changes in the social relations between the genders 2.) women came to be associated with all disorder, both natural and social (277) e. political and legal metaphors owed at least part of their origin to witchcraft trials in Bacon's time 1.) suspected witches were tortured to reveal whether they had sex with the devil 2.) hence Bacon's idea of torturing nature for her secrets 3. although Harding says there may be problems with this sort of historical analysis, she does think that the fact that misogynous metaphors were used by Bacon to describe scientific method is cause for concern (278) E. She then asks whether the metaphors might have worked in the opposite direction as well 1. that is, if nature came to be seen as like a woman who is to be raped and tortured, does this make it seem more natural to so mistreat women? 2. Are the uses of science to create ecological disaster, control others, etc., misuses or science-as-usual? F. history of biology and medicine also reveals gender symbolism 1. as one example, she cites the wax models of human figures (279) a. women were portrayed as recumbent, seductive, and could be opened to reveal the organs and a fetus (279) b. men were portrayed as upright, active 2. women's bodies were presented as simultaneously objects of desire and objects of scientific curiosity G. this gender symbolism was not simply a reflection of an already existing sexual division of labor 1. women played diverse social roles at the time 2. rather, the attempt was being made to send an ideological message a. men were feeling threatened by social changes in the relations between the genders b. these misogynous images were part of a male protest literature, or an expression of a desire to reverse these changes (279-80) 3. similarly, the lack of misogynous expression in other historical periods should not be taken as evidence of gender equality, but rather of women's relative powerless (280) II.II Contemporary Images (280) A. the use of gender symbols in discussions of science is not limited to the past 1. e.g., the "hard" sciences, "penetrating thrust" of an argument, etc. (280) 2. see also citations from Feynman and Feyerabend, comparing theories and science to female lovers 3. again this masculine imagery is seen as defensive, insofar as the popular of image of scientists is that they are less masculine than other men (281) B. Evelyn Fox Keller 1. association of science with masculinity, power, mastery makes for bad science, leading to false, oversimplified models 2. seeks alternative ways of doing science, as exemplified in her biography of Barbara McClintock 3. however, Keller overlooks the social and political reasons that "master molecule: theories may have gained ascendency over interactive models (282) C. many feminists have commented on the use of conceptual dichotomies in writings about science, such as that between reason and emotion, objectivity and emotion, and found them distinctively masculine D. Elizabeth Fee explains four ways in which dichotomies are used to maintain the belief that science is objective 1. production of knowledge is distinguished from its social uses (283) 2. thinking is kept separate from feeling (283) 3. the knowing subject or the scientist is kept separate from the known object 4. science is presented as separate from society or from the influence of political power E. Ruth Hubbard 1. thinks the dichotomizing is classist and racist as well as sexist 2. argues that the very concern with explaining sex differences in the face of the great similarities between the sexes itself reflects masculine interests F. with each of the dichotomies, we are told that one of each pair must dominate the other, to prevent our being overwhelmed by irrational forces, symbolized by the feminine (284) G. these sexist meanings were crucial for the acceptance of science and for attracting young men to work in the field H. however, Harding questions whether the emergence of modern science was truly an advance for humanity when it led to the deterioration of the social status of half of humanity (!) I. the burden of proof is on those who would maintain that science is innocent (!) III. The Social Construction of Human Sexuality (284) A. in this section, Harding argues that perceived sex differences themselves are socially constructed and that science played an important role in this social construction (285) 1. very little of our sexual identity, practices, or desires is given by nature 2. human sexuality is extremely plastic B. of course, she can scarcely deny that the different sexes play different reproductive roles C. but she argues that research on hermaphrodites shows that the most important determining factor in their adult sexual identity is parental expectation, and then generalizes that this holds true for the rest of us D. she also argues that the categories of people labeled lesbians, homosexuals, and prostitutes are all social constructions (286) E. recent anthropological studies 1. support the idea that there is nothing that is universally and cross-culturally identified with masculinity or femininity 2. the only thing constant is the dichotomy itself (287) 3. although there are exceptions to masculine dominance, these are the exceptions that prove the rule 4. some anthropologists have even argued that at the dawn of humanity, people hardly noticed sex differences, that only women had babies, or that fathers had something to do with making babies (287-8) F. also, Freudian psychological studies have examined social construction of gender (288) 1. both male and female infants must struggle to establish themselves as individuals 2. but male babies have a double burden, since, unlike the female babies, they have to establish themselves as a different kind of person than their mothers (289) 3. this results in boys being more detached from others, less concerned with their needs and interests a. boys would rather make rules about how people should act than have to get involved in personal relationships with other people b. Carol Gilligan supports this in her study of moral reasoning c. The idea that scientific inquiry should be guided by rules of method thus reflects a masculine conception of the right way to do things (290) G. in sum, 1. research in several fields supports the idea that gender is socially constructed 2. the masculine character of science reflects this socially constructed masculine identity (290) a. but this kind of masculinity is dangerous and undesirable b. which would suggest that there is something undesirable about the way science is structured 3. science is deeply involved in advancing an androcentric culture