Epistemological rupture (or epistemological break) is a notion introduced in 1938 by French philosopher
Gaston Bachelard, and later used by
Louis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher who studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy.
Althusser was a long-time member an ...
.
[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 is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
, from the Greek words ''
episteme'' (''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.
See also
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Notes and references
Concepts in the philosophy of science
Innovation
Epistemology of science
Post-structuralism
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