Rethinking Geographic Diversity in Value-Laden Ideals of Science

Abstract

Abstract In this article, I stress the need to broaden the scope of diversity in value-laden ideals of science to include geographic diversity. I argue that egalitarian and normic ideals have conceptual limitations when considering this dimension. While egalitarian frameworks advocate for a placeless science, normic frameworks predominantly locate scientific knowledge within the “Global North,” highlighting the importance of including “non-Western” perspectives from the “Global South.” These limitations have negative and unjust epistemic consequences: They risk perpetuating cultural imperialism, reproducing a colonial epistemic norming of space, and committing epistemic exoticization toward scientific communities in subaltern regions.