Abstract

PEREZ RANSANZ, Ana Rosa. On the Evolution of León Olivé’s Epistemological Thought. Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2018, vol.13, n.38, pp.155-166. ISSN 1850-0013.

Here I present a schematic reconstruction of the development of León Olivé’s epistemological thought, in which three stages are identified. The first one is defined by Olivé’s attempt to formulate a social theory of knowledge that, at the same time, would be strongly linked to epistemological realism. The second stage is marked by the change experienced by Olivé’s ideas on rationality, a change that precipitated the abandonment of his commitment to metaphysical realism. Finally, the third stage is defined by the pragmatist (not merely pragmatic) turn that Olivé stamped on his epistemology, so cognitive practices acquired a central role in his general theory of knowledge, which, in turn, reinforced the social, plural and naturalized character of his epistemology. In this last stage, the pragmatist turn was the key that led Olivé to the goals he glimpsed since the beginning of his project: to frame an epistemology consistent with the phenomenon of cultural diversity, appropriately suited to analyze the ethical and political problems posed by scientific and technological development in a knowledge-based society.

Keywords : Social epistemology; Naturalized epistemology; Epistemic pluralism; Local rationality; Metaphysical realism; Pragmatist turn; Ontological pluralism.