The epistemological problem of the objectivity of knowledge

Abstract

The problem of the objectivity of knowledge arises in scientific research, but it is not exclusive of scientific disciplines. The paper analyzes therefore the problem of human knowledge from the point of view of its intrinsic objectivity. From this point of view reflection on human knowledge allows to redefine the map of objective knowledge criticizing all forms of scientism. Knowledge in each subject area is characterized by rigor and public intersubjectivity. Thus, following Husserl, we can illustrate the value of “regional ontologies”, while following Bachelard we grasp the precise role of ontogenèse in the various disciplines. The comparison with Agazzi’s recent analyses of objectivity and its epistemic contexts allows to reconsider also the tradition of criticism, outlining an original theoretical explanation of the values and limits of the kinds of knowledge we build within different disciplines. The logical neo-realism that inspired this reflection derives from a complex tradition of epistemological thought that feeds on different conceptual and classical traditions.