Epistemological rupture (or epistemological break) is a notion introduced in 1938 by French philosopher

Gaston Bachelard Gaston Bachelard (; ; 27 June 1884 – 16 October 1962) was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter, he introduced the concepts of ''epistemological obstacle'' and '' epis ...

, and later used by

Louis Althusser Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École normale supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy. Althusser ...

.Althusser, L. (1969), ''For Marx'', translated by Ben Brewster, 33–34, Verso. . Bachelard proposed that the history of science is replete with "epistemological obstacles"—or unthought/ unconscious structures that were immanent within the realm of the sciences, such as principles of division (e.g., mind/body). The history of science, Bachelard asserted, consisted in the formation and establishment of these epistemological obstacles, and then the subsequent tearing down of the obstacles. This latter stage is an epistemological rupture—where an unconscious obstacle to scientific thought is thoroughly ruptured or broken away from.

Etymology

Epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epi ...

, from the Greek words ''

episteme In philosophy, episteme (; french: épistémè) is a term that refers to a principle system of understanding (i.e., knowledge), such as scientific knowledge or practical knowledge. The term comes from the Ancient Greek verb grc, ἐπῐ́ ...

'' (''knowledge'') and ''logos'' ("word, speech") is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin and scope of knowledge. Rupture, from Old French ''rupture'' or Latin ''ruptura'', is defined as an instance of breaking or bursting suddenly and completely, as well as a breach of a harmonious link in a figurative way.

Notes and references

Change Cognition Concepts in epistemology Concepts in metaphysics Concepts in the philosophy of mind Concepts in the philosophy of science Epistemology of science Knowledge Metaphysics of mind Metaphysics of science Philosophical theories {{epistemology-stub

Etymology

See also

Notes and references