A new language for feminist philosophy: feminism, postmodernism, and the linguistic turn

This thesis seeks to consider the potential that an analysis of the feminist-postmodernist debate in light of the linguistic tum may hold. To date, very few feminist theorists have directly engaged with the linguistic tum, even though this most recent revolution in philosophical thought has drastic implications for theory itself, and more importantly, for theory that seeks to influence or describe political engagement. In Chapter One, I begin by outlining the significance of the linguistic tum in the development of the postmodern agenda. I then explore the difficult terrain of the tense relationship between feminism and postmodernism in Chapter Two. Finally, in Chapter Three, I critically analyse the way in which viewing the feminist-postmodernist debate in light of the imperatives of the linguistic turn can help to ease the tensions that have clouded this relationship from its very outset. By examining three major aspects of postmodernism upon which feminist theorists concentrate - the subject, history, and metaphysics - I attempt to locate where each theorist is positioned in relation to both the linguistic tum and postmodernism. I conclude that, even though contemporary feminist theory works within the horizon of the linguistic tum, many feminist theorists have not embraced the imperatives that come along with it. Indeed, many feminist theorists who advocate an alliance with postmodernism, still retain vestiges of representational knowledge within their philosophical systems, which is incompatible with taking the linguistic tum. I end by considering the epistemological options that are available after the demise of the episteme of representation, arguing that any feminist theory that seeks to influence or describe feminist political action, must maintain an epistemological basis