Henry Thomas Buckle\'s Original 1858

¶ … Henry Thomas Buckle's original 1858 discourse concerning the contributions of women to the progress of knowledge to determine how relevant these concepts remain today, and to expand on his origins premise that although women reason differently from men, the contributions to the progress of knowledge made by women over the centuries are worthy of further study today. To this end, the study examines different types of knowledge and how women have affected progress in these domains through a critical review of the relevant literature, including open source media such as Wikipedia, but peer-reviewed and scholarly sources as well. A summary of the research and a synthesis of the findings are presented in the study's conclusion concerning the contributions of women to the progress of knowledge in the years since Buckle's original discourse.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Statement of the Problem

Purpose of Study

Research Question

Importance of Study

Rationale of Study

Overview of Study

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

Chapter 3: Methodology

Description of the Study Approach

Data-gathering Method and Database of Study

Chapter 4: Data Analysis

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

THE INFLUENCE of WOMEN on the PROGRESS of KNOWLEDGE

Chapter 1:

Introduction

In reality, the argument can easily be made that without women, humankind would not be around to pursue knowledge in the first place. Indeed, the nurturing and romantic side of womankind is consistently cited by male authorities as being some of the attributes that have kept humankind from completely destroying itself. Beyond these biological-based arguments, though, other authorities have also weighed in on women's contribution to the progress of knowledge. For example, on March 19, 1858, Henry Thomas Buckle delivered a speech at the Royal Institution in which he described the fundamental contributions made by women to the progress of human knowledge. In this discourse, Buckle also made the point that women and men are "hard-wired" to reason differently. At this discourse, Henry Thomas Buckle was trying to prove women are scientifically deductive and man is also scientifically designed to be inductive, both are DNA'd, so to speak, to work in a united fashion to solve daily problems and advance the knowledge of humankind in ways that could not be attained otherwise. Although this synergistic effect remains better described than understood, Mr. Buckle explains that, "First, that women naturally prefer the deductive method to the inductive. Secondly [sic], that women by encouraging in men deductive habits of thought, have rendered an immense, though unconscious, service to the progress of knowledge, by preventing scientific investigators from being as exclusively inductive as they would otherwise be."

This supportive dissertation updates Buckle's thesis and to include modern sources expressing their agreement or disagreement with Buckle's propositions. From Buckle's perspective, women's role has been limited but important and the potential for expansion of these contributions is clear. According to Neuman (2003), the deductive method is "an approach to inquiry or social theory in which one begins with abstract ideas and principles then works towards concrete empirical details to test the ideas" (p. 533). The encyclopedic entry for the term states that the deductive method is ". . . The process of reasoning from one or more general statements regarding what is known to reach a logically certain conclusion. Deductive reasoning involves using given true premises to reach a conclusion that is also true. Deductive reasoning contrasts with inductive reasoning in that a specific conclusion is arrived at from a general principle. If the rules and logic of deduction are followed, this procedure ensures an accurate conclusion" (Deductive method, 2012, para. 1).

Deductive reasoning is widely regarded as being a skill that can be acquired individually outside of a classroom or absent formal training (Deductive method, 2012), Consequently, secondary schools do not typically offer any instruction in deductive reasoning. The preference for deductive approaches by women is understandable, perhaps, given their historic (and continuing) disparate access to education around the world, but the issue as to whether women are innately deductive in ways that somehow help men use their naturally inductive reasoning abilities more effectively remains less clear. For instance, in contrast to the deductive method, the inductive method is "an approach to inquiry or social theory in which one begins with concrete empirical details then works towards abstract ideas or general principles" (Neuman, 2003, p. 537). The encyclopedia entry for this term states, "Inductive reasoning, also known as induction, is a kind of reasoning that constructs or evaluates general propositions that are derived from specific examples. Inductive reasoning contrasts with deductive reasoning, in which specific examples are derived from general propositions" (Inductive reasoning, 2012). Therefore, the case can be made that the entire range of human knowledge that is based on the scientific method is the result of this synergistic effect of women's deductive reasoning on men's inductive reasoning in innovative ways. In this regard, Buckle (1858) points out that:

The scientific inquirer, properly so called, that is, he whose object is merely truth, has only two ways of attaining his result. He may proceed from the external world to the internal; or he may begin with the internal and proceed to the external. In the former case he studies the facts presented to his senses, in order to arrive at a true idea of them; in the latter case, he studies the ideas already in his mind, in order to explain the facts of which his senses are cognizant. If he begin with the facts his method is inductive; if he begin with the ideas it is deductive. The inductive philosopher collects phenomena either by observation or by experiment, and from them rises to the general principle or law which explains and covers them. The deductive philosopher draws the principle from ideas already existing in his mind, and explains the phenomena by descending on them, instead of rising from them. (1848, para. 11)

Taken together, the concept of women reasoning in fundamentally different ways from men is a way of explaining their respective contributions to the progress of knowledge, a concept that directly relates to the purpose of this study which is discussed further below.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study was to revisit Henry Thomas Buckle's original 1858 discourse to determine how relevant these concepts remain today, and to expand on his origins premise that although women reason differently from men, the contributions to the progress of knowledge made by women over the centuries are worthy of further study in view of the changes that have taken place since that time. .

Research Question

This study was guided by the following research question: "How relevant are the concepts that Henry Thomas Buckle articulated in 1858 and what progress, if any, has been made in acknowledging the contributions of women to the progress of knowledge?"

Importance of Study

In John Gray's book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, the point is made that most of common relationship problems between men and women are a result of fundamental differences between the genders, which the author exemplifies by means of the book's eponymous metaphor: that men and women are from distinct planets -- men from Mars and women from Venus -- and that each gender is acclimated to its own planet's society and customs, but not those of the other (Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, 2012). These observations suggest that the duality that is involved in men and women's thought processes may lead to different perspectives and different ways of viewing the same issues, but that both perspectives are essential to developing a coherent and meaningful whole. In this regard, Oleinik (2005) emphasizes that, "Communication is always a difficult undertaking, especially in the social sciences, where paradigms as commonly accepted analytical frameworks play only a minor role. Alternative approaches to the same subject coexist, and the progress of knowledge results from a complex and difficult process of mutual criticism and the interplay of arguments and counterarguments" (p. 813). Therefore, to the extent that women's contributions to the progress of knowledge are discounted or ignored will likely be the extent to which the interplay of arguments and counterarguments will be diminished to the detriment of the body of knowledge.

Rationale of Study

Although feminists may go to some extremes in eliminating references to men in their writings, charging that the male-dominated society in which they live is already imbued with masculine overtones and the line must be drawn somewhere, but even conservative scholars concede that much of what is contained in the historical record is encapsulated through a male worldview. For instance, some authorities maintain that, "Inherent in the study of women's history is the belief that more traditional recordings of history have minimized or ignored the contributions of women and the effect that historical events had on women as a whole; in this respect, woman's history is often a form of historical revisionism, seeking to challenge or expand the traditional historical consensus" (Women's history, 2012, para. 2).

In the past, the primary resource for women scholarship have been in the West, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States, where "second-wave feminist historians, influenced by the new approaches promoted by social history, led the way. As activists in women's liberation, discussing and analyzing the oppression and inequalities they experienced as women, they felt it imperative to find out about the lives of their foremothers -- and found very little scholarship in print" (Women's history, 2012, para. 3). This dearth of scholarly is due in large part to the events and themes that are the focus of the historical record. In this regard, "History was written mainly by men and about men's activities in the public sphere -- war, politics, diplomacy and administration. Women are usually excluded and, when mentioned, are usually portrayed in sex-stereotypical roles, such as wives, mothers, daughters and mistresses. History is value-laden in regard to what is considered historically 'worthy'" (Women's history, 2012, para. 3).

In what Kessler (1994, p. 139) describes as "the all-too-common historical exclusion or devaluation of women's contributions," the male-dominated record of human history has either diminished the significance of these contributions by women or has simply ignored them altogether. This lack of attribution only serves to diminish the true significance of the contributions that women have made to the progress of knowledge over the centuries. For example, according to Buckle, "The influence of women on the progress of knowledge, undoubtedly one of the most interesting questions that could be submitted to any audience. Indeed, it is not only very interesting, it is also extremely important" (p. 1). The extreme importance of this enterprise is also made clear by Buckle's observations concerning how these contributions have accelerated in recent years, making the investigation all the more timely and relevant: "When we see how knowledge has civilized mankind; when we see how every great step in the march and advance of nations has been invariably preceded by a corresponding stop in their knowledge; when we moreover see, what is assuredly true, that women are constantly growing more influential, it becomes a matter of great moment that we should endeavor to ascertain the relation between their influence and our knowledge" (Buckle, 1858, p. 1).

Establishing the precise relationship between women and their contribution to the progress of knowledge, though, remains problematic. For example, according to Tushabe (2008), "Our democracy must not see women's contributions as virtues of nurturance and care, while men's contributions are regarded as public and political baselines for democracy. Resistance to women's work as democratic at the grassroots level results from the degree to which gender differences have been naturalized" (p. 44). This naturalization and institutionalization of gender-related differences has adversely affected the perception of the value of women's contributions.

In this regard, Tushabe adds that, [in the 1970s], people were too disrupted by inhospitable political, social, and economic conditions and had no luxury for reflection. But we can do that today and be more proactive in taking women's contributions more seriously as democratic contributions" (2008, p. 44). In sum, women's contributions to the progress of human knowledge are varied and pervasive, but much has transpired in the years since Buckle's original discourse concerning these contributions in 1858 that bear further study as described further below.

Overview of Study

This study used a five-chapter format to achieve the above-stated research purpose and develop an informed answer to the study's guiding research question. Chapter one introduced the topic under consideration, a statement of the problem, the purpose and importance of the study, as well as its scope and rationale. Chapter two consists of a critical review of the relevant and peer-reviewed literature, as well as online open source resources such as Wikipedia. Chapter three presents the study's methodology, including a description of the study approach, the data-gathering method and the database of study consulted. The study's penultimate chapter consists of an analysis of the data developed during the research process and concluding chapter presents the study's conclusions and a summary of the research.

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature

What is Knowledge?

Simply stated, knowledge is demonstrated when people evince a familiarity with something that includes relevant details such as information and facts or experiential or educational skills that are acquired over time (Knowledge, 2012). According to the encyclopedic entry for the term, "Knowledge can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or systematic" (Knowledge, 2012, para 1). Epistemology is the study of knowledge in philosophical settings. According to the encyclopedic entry, "The philosopher Plato famously defined knowledge as 'justified true belief.' However, no single agreed upon definition of knowledge exists, though there are numerous theories to explain it" (Knowledge, 2012, para. 1). The acquisition of knowledge is a complex affair that involves a wide range of processes, including communication, perception, association and reasoning; in addition, knowledge is thought to be associated with the capacity of acknowledgment in humans (Knowledge, 2012).

Despite ongoing efforts by scholars to develop a formal and universally accepted definition of knowledge, there remains a lack of consensus among epistemological philosophers concerning the nature of knowledge (Knowledge, 2012). In this regard, the encyclopedic definition for knowledge state that, "The classical definition, described but not ultimately endorsed by Plato specifies that a statement must meet three criteria in order to be considered knowledge: it must be justified, true, and believed [but] some claim that these conditions are not sufficient" (Knowledge, 2012, para. 3).

In the alternative, some scholars suggest that an essential component of knowledge is that it "tracks the truth" and that "the definition of knowledge requires that the evidence for the belief necessitates its truth" (Knowledge, 2012, para. 3). Other aspects of knowledge include symbolic representations of various types that are used to communicate information of all sorts from one person to others: "Symbolic representations can be used to indicate meaning and can be thought of as a dynamic process. Hence the transfer of the symbolic representation can be viewed as one ascription process whereby knowledge can be transferred" (Knowledge, 2012). The symbolic approach holds that knowledge assumes two basic forms: (a) a set of propositions (these involve specified relations among specified symbols standing for objects or classes of objects); and (b) a system of rules for using knowledge to make inferences and to guide actions (Halford & Simon, 1995, p. 158).

In contrast to symbolic representation, propositional knowledge is of a type that is capable of being acquiring through both experienced events that are encoded into propositional form as well as by inferences that are applied to such encoded propositions (Halford & Simon, 1995, p. 158). To date, a significant amount of theoretical investigation regarding developmental psychology generally accepts the validity of the symbolic approach model (Halford & Simon, 1995). In addition, Halford and Simon report that, "Researchers have examined knowledge at various age levels, including children's knowledge in terms of a set of rules; infants' knowledge of intuitive physics in terms of innate principles with which children reason; and children's knowledge of morphology in terms of a simple rule system, complemented by a separate associative system used for exceptions" (1995, p. 158). Clearly, knowledge assumes a wide range of forms and types, and it is equally clear that women are well situated to contribute to these difference branches of knowledge in important ways as discussed further below.

Women's Contribution to the Progress of Knowledge

In his discourse, Henry Thomas Buckle refers to "the incalculable service women have rendered to the progress of knowledge." Indeed, the scholar suggests that the advance of knowledge has proceeded in a unbroken fashion from the dawn of history to the present thanks to the contributions of women who have kept men from becoming too introverted in their research to have any meaningful effect. In this regard, Buckle emphasizes that, "Great and exclusive as is our passion for induction, it would, but for them, have been greater and more exclusive still. Empirical as we are, slaves as we are to the tyranny of facts, our slavery would, but for them, have been more complete and more ignominious" (1858, para. 13). Rather than full partners in the knowledge-advancing enterprise, though, Buckle does appear to relegate them to the lesser role of serving as inspiration for mere men who would otherwise founder. According to Buckle, "[Women's] turn of thought, their habits of mind, their conversation, their influence, insensibly extending over the whole surface of society, and frequently penetrating its intimate structure, have, more than all other things put together, tended to raise us into an ideal world, lift us from the dust in which we are too prone to grovel, and develop in us those germs of imagination which even the most sluggish and apathetic understandings in some degree possess" (1858, para. 13). Other authorities, though, suggest that women's contributions to the progress of knowledge have involved far more than mere inspiration of the mightier minds of man. For instance, the encyclopedic entry for "culture and gender roles" points out that, "In many prehistoric cultures, women assumed a particular cultural role. In gatherer-hunter societies, women were generally the gatherers of plant foods, small animal foods and fish, while men hunted meat from large animals" (2012, para. 1).

More recently, though, women's gender roles have been significantly changed. In this regard, the entry goes on to note, "Traditionally, middle class women were involved in domestic tasks emphasizing child care. For poorer women, especially working class women, although this often remained an ideal, economic necessity compelled them to seek employment outside the home. The occupations that were available to them were, however, lower in pay than those available to men" (Culture and gender roles, 2012, para. 2). During this phase in the status of women, their contributions were slowly being changed from strictly domestic enterprises to include administrative and professional positions in the business world where more education was necessary as well. For example, during the period between the fin de siecle and 1923, women's participation in the U.S. labor force increased from just 6% in 1900 to nearly a quarter (23% by 1923 (Culture and gender roles, 2012).

When more women and better educated women began entering the workforce, other things also began to change. For instance, as more educated women became active in the workplace, men increasingly encountered them doing things at work which were not considered part and parcel of their domesticated world, revealing that there was more here than first met the male eye. In this regard, the encyclopedic entry for culture and gender roles specifically states that, "These shifts in the labor force led to changes in the attitudes of women at work, allowing for the revolution which resulted in women becoming career and education oriented. Movements advocate equality of opportunity for both sexes and equal rights irrespective of gender" (Culture and gender roles, 2012, para. 4). In many Western countries, these trends have gained momentum in the years since and women have entered countless career fields once believed to be the sole purview of inductive-reasoning males. Women's contributions to the progress of knowledge at this point in time are difficult to quantify, but extrapolation suggests that the cumulative effects was significant and extends to the present day. In this regard, the encyclopedic entry also notes that, "Through a combination of economic changes and the efforts of the feminist movement in recent decades, women in most societies now have access to careers beyond the traditional homemaker. Although a greater number of women are seeking higher education, salaries are often claimed to be less than those of men. In the United States, women who are ages 30 to 44 and hold a university degree make only 62% of what similarly qualified men do, a lower rate than in all but three of the 19 countries for which numbers are available" (Culture and gender roles, 2012, para. 4).

Although the point can be made that effective deductive reasoning does not require formal education, it is apparent that the increased representation of women in the workplace combined with more educated women in the workplace combined to create an environment in which women could pursue interests in nontraditional fields, including various branches of science. Although these trends are more pronounced in developed nations, the same basic patterns have been experienced around the world. For instance, "The educational gender gap in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries has been reduced over the last 30 years. Younger women today are far more likely to have completed a tertiary qualification: in 19 of the 30 OECD countries, more than twice as many women aged 25 to 34 have completed tertiary education than have women aged 55 to 64" (Culture and gender roles, 2012, para. 6).

In more than three-quarters (21 of 27 or 77.7%) of OECD countries that have published statistics, the percentage of women who have graduated from university-level programs has achieved parity or exceeded comparable levels for men (Culture and gender roles, 2012). Despite the growing levels of participation by women in nontraditional fields, they have not yet reached gender equity in some traditional male-dominated fields. For example, "While women account for more than half of university graduates in several OECD countries, they receive only 30% of tertiary degrees granted in science and engineering fields, and women account for only 25% to 35% of researchers in most OECD countries" (Culture and gender roles, 2012, para. 6).

Despite these relatively modest figures, these current trends in female culture and gender roles do in fact represent significant progress from just a century and a half ago when Henry Thomas Buckle penned the seminal discourse that is of primary interest to this study. According to one biographer, "Frail of body from earliest years with almost no schooling and without the home training which was the making of Spencer, Henry Thomas Buckle, self-educated, if that term is ever appropriate to use, at his death at the age of forty-one years, left a work which has placed his name high among those who have contributed to the science of social progress" (Bristol, 1915, p. 105). This biographer confirms that Buckle's discourse, "The Influence of Women on the Progress of Knowledge," was part of his larger attempt to elevate the study of history to the same level of other fields of endeavor. In this regard, Bristol points out that, "Although [Buckle's] role was that of a philosopher of history and his aim 'to bring up this great department of inquiry history to a level with other departments' by placing it on the sure foundation of science, his History of Civilization in England contains much that bears directly on the development of the doctrine of adaptation as a theory of social progress" (1915, p. 105). For example, according to Sowell (1998), "In every branch of knowledge this once poor and ignorant people produced original and successful thinkers" including "not only the great philosopher David Hume, but also men who pioneered in shaping whole new fields of intellectual endeavor, such as economics (Adam Smith), chemistry (Joseph Black), and sociology (John Millar)" (Bristol, 1915, p. 105). Likewise, the field of literature featured the Robert Burn's poetry as well as the writings of Sir Walter Scott. In addition, the leading architects of the age such as Robert Adam had enormous influence on "the design of everything from palaces to book bindings" (Bristol, 1915, p. 105). The progress of knowledge during the 19th century also occurred in applied science where the steam engine by James Watt revolutionized the transportation industry and helped spur increased globalization of trade (Sowell, 1998).

Conspicuous by their absence from this list of notable worthies, though, are any women, an omission that would be addressed, at least to some extent, by the publication of Buckle's discourse concerning the contributions of women to the progress of knowledge. In 1906, a.C. Fifield, well-known as an "anarchist" publishing house, published Dora Montefiore's the Woman's Calendar, which comprised telling quotes concerning the women's cause and a more philosophical work on the woman question, H.T. Buckle, "The Influence of Women on the Progress of Knowledge" in 1906. In the same year, the firm published Lady Constance Lytton's pamphlet, No Votes for Women. The conjunction between Lady Constance and anarchist publishing is perhaps explained by the fact that in the same year Fifield published her brother's tract on a comprehensive temperance policy. In 1910 Fifield also published Evelyn Sharp's Rebel Women, Laurence Housman's "Articles of Faith in the Freedom of Women" (in their Heretical Booklets series), and Caroline Eccles's of the Emancipation of Women in 1912 (Crawford, 1999).

The need for educated women to contribute in equal shares with men in the pursuit of knowledge was made early on by Wollstonecraft. For example, in her book, a Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft "pleads for my sex, not for myself." According to McDonald (1996), "The book makes strange reading today for, unequal as women yet are, few doubt their capacity for intellectual and moral decision-making. Wollstonecraft had still to contend with an education system and a literature in which women were not considered fully human, hence the high sounding arguments appealing to reason" (p. 233). Indeed, referring to the synergistic effect of collaborative efforts by men and women, Wollstonecraft argued that women must be educated on the same basis as men: "Equality, as fact, could hardly be proved, and Wollstonecraft did not try. Instead she pointed out the necessity for society as a whole to have educated women. Woman, 'if not prepared by education to become the companion of man ... will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue, for truth must be common to all'" (McDonald, 1996, p. 233). Although the historical record contains numerous examples of exemplary women leaders, scholars and even warriors, it has been only fairly recently in the scope of human affairs that women have been afforded an equal position, and that position remains inferior to that of men in many ways despite assertions to the contrary. After all, women make less (in some cases far less) than their male counterparts for the same work, and are treated differently in many Western countries by virtue of institutionalized practices that set them apart in different ways.

In the "soft, cuddly and desirable" view, men were fully supportive of women's contributions but in the scholarly realm they were far more constrained. For example, McDonald (1996) adds that Wollstonecraft made the point that women's role were still being relegated to subservient and inferior positions that limited their contribution to the progress of knowledge. For instance, McDonald notes that, "Plainly, many men wanted women not as companions in the search for truth, as rational mothers, or affectionate wives, but as 'alluring mistresses.' It would only be when women had been given the same education as men that we would know if they had equal power. Time would tell. 'Men of genius and talents have started out of a class, in which women have never yet been placed'" (p. 170). Indeed, given the highly anthropocentric messages that are contained in the existing body of knowledge, these and other like-minded authorities suggest that women's contributions to the progress of knowledge have been further constrained by the same rationale that has been used to rationalize slavery. In this regard, McDonald adds that, "Wollstonecraft rejected the benevolent subjugation of women, even if men firmly believed it to be in women's best interests. 'Who made man the exclusive judge, if woman partake with him the gift of reason?'" (1996, p. 233). Unfortunately, despite Buckle's admonition to promote fuller inclusion of women in the knowledge pursuing enterprises, the differences in gender roles that continue to pervade Western society in general and American society in particular still define who is regarded as sufficiently expert to contribute to the body of knowledge. For instance, Apple (2003) maintains that:

The New Right sees the family as an organic and divine unity that resolves male egoism and female selflessness. Since gender is divine and natural…there is [no] room for legitimate political conflict…. Within the family, women and men-stability and dynamism are harmoniously fused when undisturbed by modernism, liberalism, feminism, [and] humanism which not only threaten masculinity and femininity directly, but also [do so] through their effects on children and youth. (p. 30).

The glass ceiling is well documented, but the ceiling tiles are far more insidious than a casual analysis will reveal. When women manage to overcome the obstacles they face in gaining access to the upper leadership echelons of organizations of all types, they are deemed to be a threat by many men who subscribe to old school beliefs. For instance, according to Apple, "Real women, i.e. women who know themselves to be wives and mothers, will not threaten the sanctity of the home by striving for self. When men or women challenge these gender roles they break with God and nature; when liberals, feminists, and secular humanists prevent them from fulfilling these roles they undermine the divine and natural supports upon which society rests" (2003, p. 30). When these forces combine to affect women's contribution to the progress of knowledge, it can have a mutually reinforcing effect on their further participation. For example, Goldberger and Mattuck (2003) emphasize that, "Western criteria for knowledge acquisition and validation tend to obscure women's contributions to knowledge" (p. 17). Indeed, Goldberger and Mattuck clearly support Buckle's original thesis that women have helped their male counterparts better understand the phenomena of interest in ways that would not otherwise be possible. According to Goldberger and Mattuck:

One of the most significant contributions of women has been their recognition that our attempts to understand ourselves and our worlds are necessarily constrained by our embeddedness in cultures and traditions. Today's most visible and recognized traditions of knowing also reflect a legacy that is largely Western, white, and male. Noteworthy here is the fact that the two primary and presumably different sources of knowing authorized by classical rationalism and logical empiricism were the mind and the senses. The workings of the mind were to be aided by the laws of logic; the renderings of the senses were to be helped by instrumentation and public inspection. In either case, the object of inquiry was external to the person and the methods of knowing required a disconnection or detachment from that which is known. This has perhaps been the most basic illusion of Western white male epistemology: that reality is a rational order revealed by reason and public sensibility. This is the assumption that lies at the heart of objectivism, a tradition that still dominates contemporary worldviews (emphasis added). (Goldberger & Mattuck, 2003, p. 129)

In sum, different standards for scientific knowledge and, consequently, different types of knowledge emerge through the politics of historical and cultural knowledge-seeking projects that are of salient interest during a given period in history. The prevailing historical conditions then serve to create different resources as well as constraints on the progress of knowledge as well as for the production of theories concerning knowledge in general, and scientific knowledge in particular (Goldberger & Mattuck, 2004).

Chapter 3: Methodology

Description of the Study Approach

This study used an exploratory research design. There are some strengths and weaknesses associated with this approach (Schwab, 2005). For instance, according to Schwab, "Exploratory research is warranted when an interesting issue has not been subject to prior theory or empirical research. However, findings from exploratory research must be interpreted with extra caution. Indeed, findings from exploratory research are better thought of as hypothesis generating than hypothesis testing. They best serve as a basis for additional research. The validity of exploratory findings is more persuasive if replicated in subsequent research" (2005, p. 294). The exploratory research design drew on a critical review of the relevant literature to achieve the above-stated research purpose and develop a timely and informed answer to the study's guiding research question. Both primary sources, including Buckle's original discourse, as well as commentary concerning this discourse as well as subsequent analyses of women's contributions by contemporary authorities concerning the progress of knowledge in various knowledge realms were consulted. This approach is congruent with the guidance provided by Fraenkel and Wallen (2003) who advise, "Researchers usually dig into the literature to find out what has already been written about the topic they are interested in investigating. Both the opinions of experts in the field and other research studies are of interest. Such reading is referred to as a review of the literature" (p. 48). Likewise, Gratton and Jones (2003) maintain that a critical reviewing of the timely literature is an essential task in all type of modern social research. "No matter how original you think the research question may be, it is almost certain that your work will be building on the work of others. It is here that the review of such existing work is important. A literature review is the background to the research, where it is important to demonstrate a clear understanding of the relevant theories and concepts, the results of past research into the area, the types of methodologies and research designs employed in such research, and areas where the literature is deficient" (p. 51). Beyond the foregoing desirable attributes of a well-conducted literature review, Wood and Ellis (2003) identified the following as additional important outcomes of a well conducted literature review:

1. It helps describe a topic of interest and refine either research questions or directions in which to look;

2. It presents a clear description and evaluation of the theories and concepts that have informed research into the topic of interest;

3. It clarifies the relationship to previous research and highlights where new research may contribute by identifying research possibilities which have been overlooked so far in the literature;

4. It provides insights into the topic of interest that are both methodological and substantive;

5. It demonstrates powers of critical analysis by, for instance, exposing taken for granted assumptions underpinning previous research and identifying the possibilities of replacing them with alternative assumptions;

6. It justifies any new research through a coherent critique of what has gone before and demonstrates why new research is both timely and important.

Similarly, Silverman (2005, p. 300) suggests that a literature review should aim to answer the following questions:

1. What do we know about the topic?

2. What do we have to say critically about what is already known?

3. Has anyone else ever done anything exactly the same?

4. Has anyone else done anything that is related?

5. Where does your work fit in with what has gone before?

6. Why is your research worth doing in the light of what has already been done?

Data-gathering Method and Database of Study

The study's data-gathering method proceeded in a step-wise fashion resembling the classic inverted pyramid in which general areas of interests were reviewed and these areas were subsequently fine-tuned to investigate additional issues of interest. The database of study consulted included university and public libraries, as well as reliable online research resources such as EBSSCO and Questia and open source resources including Wikipedia.

Chapter 4: Data Analysis

Section One: Types of Knowledge

In order to gauge women's contributions to the progress of knowledge, it is necessary to distinguish between the types of knowledge that are recognized and this is accomplished in Table __ below.

Table

Types of Knowledge

Type of Knowledge

Definition

Implicit knowledge

Implicit cognition refers to unconscious influences such as knowledge, perception, or memory, that influence a person's behavior, even though they themselves have no conscious awareness whatsoever of those influences. Implicit knowledge is language knowledge that learners possess intuitively but are not able to put into words.

Explicit knowledge

This type of knowledge has been articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. The information contained in encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) are good examples of explicit knowledge. The most common forms of explicit knowledge are manuals, documents, procedures, and how-to videos. Knowledge also can be audio-visual. Works of art and product design can be seen as other forms of explicit knowledge where human skills, motives and knowledge are externalized. Advocates of non-sexist language including some feminists say that the English language perpetuates biases against women, such as using male-gendered terms such as "he" and "man" as generic. Many authors including those who write textbooks now conspicuously avoid that practice, in the case of the previous examples using words like "he or she" or "they" and "human race" (Language and thought, 2012). Explicit knowledge is essential to the progress of knowledge: "Writing is still the most available and most universal of all forms of recording and transmitting knowledge. It stands unchallenged as mankind's primary technology of knowledge transfer down through the ages and to all cultures and languages of the world" (Knowledge, 2012, para. 4).

Situated knowledge

Situated knowledge is knowledge specific to a particular situation. Some methods of generating knowledge, such as trial and error, or learning from experience, tend to create highly situational knowledge. One of the main attributes of the scientific method is that the theories it generates are much less situational than knowledge gained by other methods. Situational knowledge is often embedded in language, culture, or traditions.

Partial knowledge

One discipline of epistemology focuses on partial knowledge. In most cases, it is not possible to understand an information domain exhaustively; human knowledge is always incomplete or partial. Most real problems have to be solved by taking advantage of a partial understanding of the problem context and problem data, unlike the typical math problems one might solve at school, where all data is given and one is given a complete understanding of formulas necessary to solve them. This idea is also present in the concept of bounded rationality which assumes that in real life situations people often have a limited amount of information and make decisions accordingly. Researchers have studied partial knowledge using memory tests and have confirmed the existence of partial knowledge, although more study is needed in this area (Valentine & Brennen, 1999). In fact, Pritchard and McLaran (1994) emphasizes that, "All knowledge is situated, that is, located within a particular time, place, history, culture, and angle of vision. As such, all knowledge is understood to be partial. To be complete, it needs to be complemented by the partial knowledge that other investigators might provide. In a women's-studies class, that complementarity leads to collaborative learning, distinguishing between competing interpretations of a given subject, and opening oneself to expanding one's own angle of vision through what can be learned from someone else" (p. 310).

Scientific knowledge

The development of the scientific method has made a significant contribution to how knowledge is acquired. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning and experimentation. The scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Until recent times, at least in the Western tradition, it was simply taken for granted that knowledge was something possessed only by humans -- and probably adult humans at that.

Tacit knowledge

This kind of knowledge is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising it. For example, stating to someone that London is in the United Kingdom is a piece of explicit knowledge that can be written down, transmitted, and understood by a recipient. However, the ability to speak a language, use algebra, or design and use complex equipment requires all sorts of knowledge that is not always known explicitly, even by expert practitioners, and which is difficult to explicitly transfer to users.

Unconscious knowledge

The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind that occur automatically and are not available to introspection, and include thought processes, memory, affect, and motivation. Empirical evidence suggests that unconscious phenomena include repressed feelings, automatic skills, subliminal perceptions, thoughts, habits, and automatic reactions, and possibly also complexes, hidden phobias and desires. In psychoanalytic theory, unconscious processes are understood to be expressed in dreams in a symbolical form, as well as in slips of the tongue and jokes. Thus the unconscious mind can be seen as the source of dreams and automatic thoughts (those that appear without any apparent cause), the repository of forgotten memories (that may still be accessible to consciousness at some later time), and the locus of implicit knowledge (the things that people have learned so well that they do them without thinking).

Source: Adapted from entries at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org / unless otherwise indicated

An analysis of women's contributions to the progress of explicit knowledge, situated knowledge, scientific knowledge and tacit knowledge is provided below.

Explicit Knowledge

With respect to the contributions of women to the progress of explicit knowledge, Buckle concedes that women's influence "has prevented life from being too exclusively practical and selfish, and has saved it from degenerating into a dull and monotonous routine, by infusing into it an ideal and romantic element. It has softened the violence of men; it has improved their manners; it has lessened their cruelty. Thus far, the gain is complete and undeniable" (1858, para. 4). These are all laudable contributions to be sure, but Buckle is less admirable when it comes to the contributions of women to explicit knowledge, the type of knowledge that is codified and passed down from generation to generation in the classic concept of the progress of knowledge. In this regard, Buckle advises, "But if we ask what their influence has been, not on the general interests of society, but on one of those interests, namely, the progress of knowledge, the answer is not so obvious. for, to state the matter candidly, it must be confessed that none of the greatest works which instruct and delight mankind have been composed by women. In poetry, in painting, in sculpture, in music, the most exquisite productions are the work of men" (1858, para. 5).

The transfer of explicit knowledge has also assumed new importance, particularly in the Age of Information. For instance, the encyclopedic entry states, "The extent of human knowledge is now so great that it is only possible to record it and to communicate it through writing. Verbal teaching and handing down of knowledge is limited to those few who would have contact with the transmitter person - far too limited for today's world" (Knowledge, 2012, para. 4). In this regard, a report from Miller (2011) highlights the common response to the complaint that few books by women are reviewed in major literary publications is to ask whether fewer books by women are published in the first place and this does seem to be the case. In the study by Miller, an analysis of the fall 2010 catalogs from an assortment of book publishers, large and small was conducted and the findings showed that just one publishing house (Riverhead) had any significant representation by women authors (45%). According to Miller, "For most of the rest, women accounted for around 30% of the list, with small independent presses turning out to be even more male-heavy than a behemoth like Random House" (Miller, 2011, para. 3).

Notwithstanding the impact that the women's movement has had on the number of women authors being published today, these trends highlight the fact that despite their representation in the population, women have been excluded from the knowledge-pursuing enterprises that have most contributed to the progress of knowledge. For example, according to Eichler (2011), "The effect of the women's movement was electrifying to those directly involved in it. It offered a radically new way of seeing the world. More than half the population of the world had been systematically excluded from serious consideration. Realizing this brought with it an enormous freedom to question everything and everybody. This opened a large intellectual space" (p. 375).

In this regard, Eichler adds that, "A politics of gender resulted in a secondary status for women. Compared with today, there are some obvious improvements: many female faculty members are now able to combine a family and a full-time academic career, albeit with difficulty; nepotism rules have turned into rules for spousal appointments; maternity leaves make childbearing somewhat easier; and the number of female faculty members has increased considerably" (2011, p. 375). Women, it would seem, are being excluded from the hallowed halls of the male-dominated decision-making processes in ways that prevent their full participation in the contribution of knowledge. In this regard, Moore and Murphy emphasize that, "Despite the pressure to write and to publish in academia, many faculty do not. This is not because of the absence of their potential contribution to knowledge and thinking. Many of them have been silenced, or are never given a chance to find their academic voices, because the academic writing process is often experienced as destructive, mysterious, daunting and unsupported" (Moore & Murphy, 2010, p. 22). A follow-up study by the Huffington Post examined the gender ratios of books published by Knopf, Crown, Little, Brown and Farrar, Strauss and Giroux and found that they were virtually identical to those of the publications cited in Vida's survey (Are Book Publishers to Blame for Gender Discrimination?, 2012, para. 2).

Finally, women account for a miniscule percentage of authors of high school and college history textbooks and most texts do not address issues such as gender relations or the effect of gender on historical developments (Loewen, 2002). According to Loewen, "If the 'we' in a textbook included women and all social classes, it would read differently, just as whites talk differently and more humanely in the presence of people of color. Surely, it is possible to write accurate, multicultural history that spreads the discomfort around rather than distorting history to help only affluent white children feel comfortable about their past. Maybe we can even write and teach a history that children of the nonelite would want to study" (p. 296).

Some of the works that have highlighted the omission of women in history textbooks or their lack of inclusion in the formative events contained therein include the following:

Table

Studies of the treatment of women in history textbooks

Description

Mary Kay Terrault, "Integrating women's history; the case of the United States history textbooks." The History Teacher 19 (1986, February), 211-262.

This essay describes how a five-phase theory based on a new scholarship in women's history can evaluate curricular change about women present in high school history texts. Also suggests what textbook authors might include and an evaluation of 12 recent texts. Concludes that texts must eliminate stereotypic thinking about women.

Glenn Blankenship, "How to test a textbook for sexism." Social Education (1984, April), 282-283.

The consideration of a textbook for possible adoption should consider the following questions: does the textbook include sufficient information on important females; does the textbook deal adequately with women's issues; do the photographs and illustrations in the textbook deal effectively with women; and does the textbook contain sexist language?

Darrel F. Kirby and Nancy B. Julian, "Treatment of women in high school U.S. history textbooks." Social Studies (1981, September), 203-207.

This study examined the treatment of leading women and major topics pertaining to women contained in American high school history textbooks. Authors emphasize that "Seeing women cost only in subordinate and inferior positions throughout history and seldom, if ever, concern female heroines or women of achievement."

It would seem that women stand to contribute the most in explicit knowledge since it would memorialize their own knowledge in ways that have eluded male authors in the past. As Buckle points out, "Our knowledge is composed not of facts, but of the relations which facts and ideas bear to themselves and to each other; and real knowledge consists not in an acquaintance with facts, which only makes a pedant, but in the use of facts, which makes a philosopher" (1858, para. 11). In support of his assertions, Buckle wanders into some areas that would likely be regarded as off limits to scholars today, and his references to various female attributes appear somewhat romantic when viewed through a 21st century lens. Nevertheless, Buckle is on firm ground when he suggests:

In regard to women being by nature more deductive, and men more inductive, you will remember that induction assigns the first place to particular facts; deduction to general propositions or ideas. Now, there are several reasons why women prefer the deductive, and, if I may so say, ideal method. They are more emotional, more enthusiastic, and more imaginative than men; they therefore live more in an ideal world; while men, with their colder, harder, and austerer organisations, are more practical and more under the dominion of facts, to which they consequently ascribe a higher importance. Another circumstance which makes women more deductive, is that they possess more of what is called intuition. They cannot see so far as men can, but what they do see they see quicker. Hence, they are constantly tempted to grasp at once at an idea, and seek to solve a problem suddenly, in contradistinction to the slower and more laborious ascent of the inductive investigator. (1858, para. 11)

Since those words were penned a century and a half ago, countless female scientific researchers have contributed to the progress of knowledge in myriad ways that refutes the latter assertions by Buckle, but the scholar can be forgiven his references to women being more "emotional and enthusiastic" in their pursuit of knowledge compared to the stodgy old men with whom he was likely familiar. Indeed, Buckle is quick to concede that any limitations on the contributions of women to the progress of knowledge was due in large part to their lack of an education on par with their male counterparts, a lack that also constraints their collaborative abilities. In this regard, Buckle advises that, "That women are more deductive than men, because they think quicker than men, is a proposition which some persons will not relish, and yet it may be proved in a variety of ways. Indeed, nothing could prevent its being universally admitted except the fact, that the remarkable rapidity with which women think is obscured by that miserable, that contemptible, that preposterous system, called their education, in which valuable things are carefully kept from them, and trifling things carefully taught to them, until their fine and nimble minds are too often irretrievably injured" (1858, para. 12). This point is also made by Loewen who cautions that history is the only class in which students actually get stupider as they learn more because of the enormity of the errors that are contained in the majority of history textbooks that are currently in use in the United States.

Situated Knowledge

Many women are natural experts when it comes to situated knowledge simply by virtue of their vast range of responsibilities in the home and in the workplace if applicable. When viewed from a feminist perspective, situated knowledge becomes even more salient. For instance, according to Sachs (1996), "Feminist objectivity means situated knowledge -- the realization that objectivity is about limited location and situated knowledge, not about transcendence and splitting of subject and object" (p. 35). Just as the history books are written by the winners, the winners are almost invariably men and men have been the ones responsible for interpolating these events for modern readers. This male-dominated view of women's contributions to the progress of knowledge has inevitably affected the interpretation. As Sachs (1996) points out, "What is claimed to be universal or objective knowledge is, in reality, largely knowledge of privileged men, and 'situated knowledge' [address this constraint]: "Situated knowledge does not mean relativism, but rather shared conversations leading to better accounts of the world. Situated knowledge allows us to become answerable for what we learn how to see" (p. 456). This assertion is congruent with Buckle's proposition that for far too long women have been excluded from the conventional pathways to knowledge creation, especially with respect to scientific endeavors as discussed further below.

Scientific Knowledge:

The specific contributions of women to the progress of scientific knowledge may be lost in the mists of time, but what is known is that, "Women have made contributions and sacrifices to science from the earliest times" (Women in science, 2012, para. 5). The historical contributions of to the progress of scientific knowledge can be discerned, at least in part, to the wisdom of the crowd's interpretation of these issues as set forth in Table __ below.

Table

Women's contribution to the progress of scientific knowledge through the ages

Period

Description

Early Middle Ages

The first part of the European Middle Ages was marked by the process which brought the end of the Roman Empire. The Latin West was left with great difficulties that affected the continent's intellectual production dramatically. Although nature was still seen as a system that could be comprehended in the light of reason, there was little innovative scientific inquiry; however, the centuries after the year 1000 saw prosperity and rapidly increasing population, which brought about many changes and sparked scientific production. During the early part of the Middle Ages, convents were an important place of education for women, and some of these communities provided opportunities for women to contribute to scholarly research. The 11th century saw the emergence of the first universities. Women were, for the most part, excluded from university education; there were, however, some exceptions. The Italian University of Bologna, for example, allowed women to attend lectures from its inception, in 1088.

1650-1710

During this period, women comprised 14% of all German astronomers. Overall, the Scientific Revolution did little to change people's ideas about the nature of women. Male scientists used the new science to spread the view that women were by nature inferior and subordinate to men and suited to play a domestic role as nurturing mothers. The widespread distribution of books ensured the continuation of these ideas (Women in science, 2012). The 18th century was characterized by three divergent views towards woman: that women were mentally and socially inferior to men, that they were equal but different, and that women were potentially equal in both mental ability and contribution to society. While many scholars believed women's roles were confined to motherhood and service to their male partners, the Enlightenment was a period in which women experienced expanded roles in the sciences. The rise of salon culture in Europe brought philosophies and their conversation to an intimate setting where men and women met to discuss contemporary political, social, and scientific topics. Through salons and their work in mathematics, physics, botany, and philosophy, women began to have a significant impact during the Enlightenment. Women where not entirely excluded from being officially acknowledged by the scientific world (Women in science, 2012). As many experiments and conversations took place in the home, women were well located to assist their husbands and family members with experiments and conversations (Women in science, 2012).

18th Century

Although women excelled in many scientific areas during the 18th century, they were discouraged from learning about plant reproduction. People feared that they would pick up the wrong moral lessons from nature's example. Women were often depicted as both innately emotional and incapable of objective reasoning or as natural mothers reproducing a natural, moral society. Although gender roles were largely defined in the 18th century, women experienced great advances in science.

19th Century

Science remained a largely amateur profession during the early part of the 19th century. Women's contributions were limited by their exclusion from most formal scientific education, but began to be recognized by admittance into learned societies during this period. The latter part of the 19th century saw a rise in educational opportunities for women. In the later 19th century the rise of the women's college provided jobs for women scientists, and opportunities for education. Women's colleges produced a disproportionate number of women who went on for PhDs in science. Many coeducational colleges and universities also opened or started to admit women during this period; such institutions included only just over 3000 women in 1875, but by 1900 accounted for almost 20,000.

20th Century

By the fin de siecle, women moved into science in significant numbers, helped by the women's colleges and by opportunities at some of the new universities. Women also found opportunities in botany and embryology. In psychology, women earned doctorates but were encouraged to specialize in educational and child psychology and to take jobs in clinical settings, such as hospitals and social welfare agencies. Before 1976, fundamental contributions of women to physics were rarely acknowledged. Women worked unpaid or in positions lacking the status they deserved. That imbalance is gradually being redressed.

Source: Adapted from Women in Science, 2012