The social epistemological function of the notion of “regimes of truth” in Michel Foucault: a confrontational analysis with Kuhn’s historical epistemology

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze Foucault's work from an epistemological point of view, starting from the admittedly political notion of “regime of truth”. To do so, we will start from a comparison with Kuhn's work to emphasize the epistemological function of this concept. Thus, we will argue that Foucault's project is not only analogous to Kuhn's, but also complementary to it, since with Foucault it is possible to broaden the theoretical considerations on science, especially those linked to the epistemology of the social sciences, including political factors, such as values and beliefs, which influence the development of social knowledge.