Epistemological Reorientations and Restructurings of Social and Biological Sciences Since the 1910s

Abstract

Many epistemological changes in social and biological sciences have taken place since 1970 and some of these are taken up in this paper. These are: (a) the shift from mono-epistemologism to poly-epistemologism; (b) the shift of conceptual focus front standardized procedurism for robot-like efficiency to cultivation of craftsmen's pride for enjoyment of creativity (c) the shift from collectivistic individual identity by ingroup homogenization and self-stereotyping to identity creation by selective combination of heterogeneous elements including foreign elements which are congruent with one's own epistemological type; (d) shift from redundant complexity to nonredundant complexity, especially in aesthetics, urban planning and environmental design ; (e) the shift from the fallacious assumption that it is scientific to compare groups (for example cultural, social. gender, professional groups) in terms of the average of each group (averagism) to identification of individual types which cut across boundaries between groups (transgroupism).