Philosophical Underpinnnings of Fortun's Chiasma and related...

As we have discussed Fortun's chiasma concept, I see an important philosophical shift in Fortun's concepts compared to traditional scientific thought. Since the Enlightenment roughly 300 years ago, the scientific community has coveted a positive, objective epistemology-- often omitting the "human factor" by function of our unique mental capacity in which we can "think" ourselves cognitively objective. Unfortunately through psychological research in the last 50-75 years, it has become empircally compelling that we all have unconscious subjective behaviors that we cannot cognitively control-- directly challenging the ability of any human, including the most objective scientists to pursue science impartially. Fortun's, as well as Zwart's article, seem to lend themselves to a shift in epistemological philosophies of the science community. Fortun's chiasma/writing-style and Zwart's use of the autobiography, both highlight the affect the "human x-factor" has on the path of scientific progress and imply an acknowledgment by both authors that intangible subjectiveness is at play in a traditionally thought-to-be objective arena.

In my opinion, this dynamic has been in-process for many years. The Enlightenment challenged many explanations of the Roman Catholic empire in which the theologically-based Catholic propositions were subjectively manipulated to consolidate power. Since the Enlightenment the scientific community has firmly held onto objective priniciples of scientific endeavors, maybe in an attempt to cleanse the system of subjective sociopolitical forces. That was until psychology emerged as a legitimate science in-and-of itself in the last 20-30 years. Now subjectiveness in an objective community has reintroduced itself, not as a political or religous tool, but as an innate biological force empircally researched to the objective standards of post-Enlightenment science. Granted psychology is still a relatively new science and many aspects of psychology remain in debate, but as psychology progresses I think the trend of addressing the "human factor" in science as highlighted in Fortun's and Zwart's readings so far; science will have to shift its traditional philosophical foundations in order to account for uncontrollable, unconscious subjective forces.