Towards rethinking the primacy of epistemology in psychology: Introduction to the special section

Abstract

Within psychology, epistemology is treated by many scholars explicitly or implicitly as a default first principle. Within this special section, this positioning is brought into question. Contributors consider broadening the philosophical foundations of our discipline to also overtly include ethical, existential, and cosmological concerns alongside epistemology considerations. We present five articles that each showcase very different approaches in the reimagining of the philosophical principles of psychology. Although different in many ways, these contributions also share key similarities in advocating for the more meaningful inclusion of ethics within broader processes of knowledge production and implementation.

A Kaupapa Māori conceptualization and efforts to address the needs of the growing precariat in Aotearoa New Zealand: A situated focus on Māori

“…Kaupapa Māori research centralizes Māori ways of thinking about and engaging with the world, whilst incorporating concepts, insights and strategies of resistance to ongoing processes of colonialism such as liberation social psychologies out of Latin America and the Philippines (King et al, 2021 ; Pe‐Pua & Protacio‐Marcelino, 2000 ; Silva Guimarães, 2020 ; Watson & Huntington, 2008 ). The ultimate goal of Kaupapa Māori research is to promote the re‐powering of Māori towards achieving tino rangatiratanga (Māori self‐determination) and leading efforts to care for all New Zealanders who reside with us on our lands.…”

Once Upon a Time, Materiality: A Possible Scenario for Psychology in the Nature/culture Divide

“…This way, I will locate my arguments in light of the recent turn towards ontology rather than epistemology in Psychology (King et al, 2021), but without disregarding or cutting apart the role played by ethics in the very condition of human and more-than-humanexistence (Albrecht, 2019).…”