Hugh Lacey’s Epistemology Dialogs with Feminist Economy: Neutrality, Objectivity and Pluralism

Abstract

Feminist Economics is one of the most recent research programs in economic science. Since the publication of Beyond Economic Man, edited by Ferber and Nelson (1993), it has been developed with increasing strength, especially in the United States. However, feminist researches in general and feminist economics in particular are often perceived to be less objective than conventional research, on the grounds that the latter would be value-neutral and the former would not. After drawing up some central definitions of Feminist Economics, we follow Hugh Lacey’s critical model (1998, 1999) and propose that: i) to aim for objectivity does not mean to defend a methodology that is free from axiological influences, ii) neutrality is (and ought to be) defensible for scientific practice as a whole, and finally, iii) the defense of a plurality of scientific approaches is the way through which the neutrality of science as a social practice can be safeguarded.