Criminology, Security and Justice

Methodological and epistemological issues

authors Cândido da Agra
  Carla Cardoso
  Jacques de Maillard
  Conor O’Reily
  Paul Ponsaers
  Joanna Shapland
journal GERN (ISSN: )
volume 2015
issue 3. Criminology, Security and Justice. Methodological and epistemological issues
section Editorial
date of publication July 22, 2015
language English
pagina 7
abstract

Which are the big questions posed by Epistemology and Philosophy of Science? They are, in short, the following: How do we distinguish science from other forms of thinking? What is science? How is it done? How different areas of knowledge are born, and how do they evolve?
The answer to these questions relies in two traditions: the French historicist tradition (e.g., G. Bachelard, G. Canguilhem) and the Anglo-Saxon logicist tradition (e.g., K. Popper, T. Khun). The great philosopher of the 20th century, Michel Foucault, occupies space apart from these. In fact, he inaugurates, in the sixties of the 20th century, a new approach to the analysis of knowledge, sciences and practices. As it is widely known, this philosopher dedicated a great part of his research to normativity, the formal means of control, penal law, and law in general. More recently, analytical philosophy has been showing interest in the matters of crime and justice.