Poststructuralism and the Epistemological Basis of Anarchism

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Andrew M Koch Ph.D., Professor (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: This essay identifies two different methodological strategies used by the proponents of anarchism. In what is termed the "ontological" approach, the rationale for anarchism depends on a particular representation of human nature. That characterization of "being" determines the relation between the individual and the structures of social life. In the alternative approach, the epistemological status of "representation" is challenged, leaving human subjects without stable identities. Without the possibility of stable human representations, the foundations underlying the exercise of institutional power can be challenged. This epistemological discussion is traced from Max Stirner to the twentieth-century movement known as poststructuralism.

Additional Information

Publication
Koch, Andrew M. (1993) "Poststructuralism and Epistemological Basis of Anarchism" The Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 23: 3 [September 1993] pp. 327-351. Published by SAGE. DOI: 10.1177/004839319302300304
Language: English
Date: 1993

Email this document to