What Is Standpoint Epistemology? A Biblical Response

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A listener recently sent in this question: "I love your videos and I don't want to be disrespectful when asking this question, but I have heard you say in previous podcasts that you aren't married and you don't have children. Can you explain how you are qualified to teach parents about discipling children if you don't have first-hand experience?"

This is a great question, and I'm so thankful that it was submitted. Now, you may never have wondered this about me, but I think it's really helpful for us to think through how we go about figuring out whether or not we actually accept counsel that has been given to us. Does a person need lived experience in a certain area? Does lived experience automatically make what they're saying valid? These are important questions for us to think through and for us to help our children think through.

When Does Experience Matter?

As we're thinking through the value of experience in someone providing counsel, it is clear that we should not be seeking counsel from someone who has no idea what they're talking about in a certain area. For example, I'm not going to go to my local grocer and ask for advice on medicine, unless that grocer happens to be knowledgeable and wise in medicine. Or you probably aren't going to go to your medical doctor to ask for advice on investing, unless, of course, your medical doctor happens to be an expert in finances and investing. And similarly, you should not come to me with questions about nuclear physics, because I know absolutely nothing about nuclear physics aside from how to say the term.

So it is true. We don't want to go and seek counsel from someone who has no idea what they're talking about in a certain area. However, if we automatically discredit what someone says simply because they lack a certain form of lived experience, we are falling into the trap of a modern cultural belief known as standpoint epistemology.

What Is Standpoint Epistemology?

Now, I know this is a long term, but hang with me and I'll explain what it is. Standpoint epistemology is a philosophical framework that argues that certain groups of people have knowledge that is inaccessible to others because of their lived experience.

You may be thinking, "Elizabeth, you said you were going to explain this, and this isn't any clearer in my mind." Well, if it sounds complicated, you can remember what this term means simply by thinking through the two words. The word "standpoint" means the view from where you stand. And "epistemology" means how you know something.

So basically, standpoint epistemology is a framework that claims if you do not have a certain lived experience, there are certain things you can never know. Because you don't have a certain standpoint, there is knowledge that you will never know.

Where Standpoint Epistemology Came From

I want to go through just a very, very brief history of standpoint epistemology, just to understand where it's come from, where it is today, and how we can easily buy into it.

The framework for standpoint epistemology originated with Karl Marx. I'm sure that many of you know Karl Marx is the father of Marxism, which eventually led to communism and then socialism. Karl Marx claimed that the working class had a knowledge of capitalism that was inaccessible to factory owners because of the working class's experience. So that's where standpoint epistemology started.

This framework continued to be developed throughout the years by many different critical theorists. Specifically, in the 1970s and 1980s, feminist authors further developed this theory to propose that there are many facets of society that cannot be fully understood by men, because men do not have the same lived experience as women.

Where You May Have Heard It

I know that this all sounds very lofty and theoretical, but it is very practical. If you have ever heard the pro-abortion argument that men cannot speak into the topic of abortion because they do not have a uterus, that argument stems from standpoint epistemology. Men don't have this certain standpoint. They don't have this certain viewpoint. So therefore, they don't have certain knowledge that women can have.

You probably also know that in recent decades, standpoint epistemology has been applied to race. The claim is that minority groups have a knowledge that is inaccessible to whites because of their lived experience, particularly their lived experience of racism.

The Kernel of Truth

As with most theories that are in error, there is a kernel of truth in standpoint epistemology. It is true that those who have lived through certain experiences have gained a knowledge, an experiential knowledge, about those circumstances that may be difficult for someone who has not experienced those circumstances to understand. So that is true. However, living through certain experiences does not give one secret knowledge that is inaccessible to others.

What Singleness Has Taught Me About Counsel

Just as a clear example of this, I'm in my early 40s and I'm single. I've never desired singleness, and being single this late in life is not easy. However, those who have not experienced extended singleness like me can still speak truth into my life regarding singleness. In fact, sometimes those who have not experienced extended singleness are in a better position to point me towards the truth, because they are not dealing with the same struggles that I am dealing with.

For example, most of my friends got married in their early to mid 20s. When I'm struggling in singleness, a number of times I've had friends who are married, and who got married early in life, remind me that it's important for me to focus on gratitude rather than focusing on this longing for what God has not done. I've also had friends who got married very early in life encourage me, as I've dated, not to settle for dating someone I'm not really interested in just because I don't want to be single.

So others who speak into my life regarding singleness may not have lived experience in being single in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, but they can still speak truth into this area of my life.

A Pattern in Scripture

It's similar even when we're reading certain portions of Scripture. I don't know if you've noticed, but the majority of biblical commands regarding marriage and parenting come from either Jesus or the Apostle Paul, neither of whom was married nor had children. However, their lack of experience in marriage and parenting does not negate the truths of what they spoke or penned in the Scriptures about marriage and parenting.

So again, standpoint epistemology is this belief that if you do not have certain lived experiences, there is knowledge that is just inaccessible to you. And this is a faulty belief because, given the way God has created us and given us His world and His Word, truth is accessible to everyone.

Seeing Standpoint Epistemology From Both Ends

I've experienced standpoint epistemology in my own life from both ends, both as the person who is falsely believing it and as the person who is falsely negated because of it.

When I Was the One Believing It

When I was a teacher, probably about three or four years into my teaching experience, someone gave me advice on instructing children in the classroom. We were having a conversation, and this person just offered unsolicited advice. Initially, I ignored this advice. While I might have been smiling on the outside, internally I was kind of rolling my eyes, and I was thinking, "This person has no idea what they're talking about, because they've never been a classroom teacher." So I just dismissed what they had to say, because they didn't have the same lived experience that I did in the classroom.

However, what they said kept coming back to mind. The more I thought about their advice and the more I searched the Scriptures, I began to realize that the advice this person gave me was both wise and biblical, despite the fact that they had never been a classroom teacher.

So in this situation, I was buying into the faulty framework of standpoint epistemology and just discrediting what this person said, believing that only people who had similar or the same lived experiences as myself in the classroom could speak truth into my classroom teaching. At the time, I didn't know I was buying into standpoint epistemology, but I just realized, "Oh, this person has access to biblical truth about wise classroom practices, even though they've never been in the classroom."

When I Was the One Dismissed

Now, as this questioner pointed out, and as I work with Foundation Worldview, I've experienced standpoint epistemology on the other end. There have been times when people have discredited what I have said, not based on whether or not it was true, but simply based on the fact that I do not have any lived experience in parenting.

Just as an example of this, there have been three times this year when different homeschool organizations have reached out asking if I would speak at their event. In each instance, my teammate who coordinates speaking engagements began working through details with the organization. However, once the organization learned that I was single and did not have children, which is a fact that I am very open about and do not keep secret, they took back their offer to have me speak at their event. They said they were sorry, but they couldn't have me out to speak since I am not a homeschooling mom.

Now, if these organizations were not interested in having me speak because what I say does not align with their mission, their vision, or their values, or they thought what I say is just not true, or if they simply preferred to have someone else speak, those are totally legitimate reasons for not having me out to speak. However, these organizations appreciate the content we produce here at Foundation Worldview and think that it's both true and valuable, but they've decided not to have me speak because I don't have the lived experience of being a homeschool mom. That shows that they have bought into this faulty framework of standpoint epistemology, believing that only those who have lived experience of homeschooling children can speak truth into the homeschooling arena.

Similarly, I've also faced this faulty framework of standpoint epistemology in different interviews I've done. I remember one time, several years ago, I was doing an interview on live radio. The host was asking me questions about how parents can guide their children in a biblical understanding of sexuality. And then he threw me a bit of a curveball. He said, "Now, what you've shared is really good. However, I know that you do not have any children of your own, so do you feel like you're deceiving parents and offering them this guidance when you yourself don't have any children?"

Only by God's grace, I didn't really miss a beat, and God just gave me the words to say. I said, "No, I don't think that I'm deceiving others, mainly because I'm honest about the fact that I'm single and I don't have children." I said, "And I'm in good company in what I'm doing, because the majority of what we know biblically about marriage and parenting comes from Jesus and the Apostle Paul, neither of whom was married nor had children."

But this radio host, and others I've been interviewed by, have just bought into this faulty epistemological framework of standpoint epistemology, believing that there's certain knowledge about parenting that is inaccessible to me because I am single and do not have children.

My Answer to This Listener

So, in response to the person who wrote in this question: first of all, thank you so much for writing it in, because I think it's an important one for us to think through, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to answer it. You are correct that I do not have firsthand experience parenting children. Because of this, I do need to take extra caution as I biblically guide others through something that I have never personally experienced.

There are times when I will send a podcast or another recording I've done to friends who have children, just to have them check what I've said. I'll say, "Well, I know everything I've said in here is biblical, but I want to make sure that it's also practical for where parents of kids at this age are." So it's true, I do need to be extra careful, because I do not have this personal experience.

However, God has graciously gifted me with expertise in translating complex theological and philosophical concepts into words and activities that young children can understand. And while I do not have lived experience in parenting, I do have experience and expertise in explaining what Scripture reveals about God, humans, and the world around us, and translating it into practical activities that parents, teachers, and church leaders can implement with kids.

If you find the Foundation Worldview podcast content beneficial and valuable, and you are interested in having me come out to speak at an event at your church, your moms' group, or some other organization you're affiliated with, you can submit a speaker request form. I always love getting to be part of in-person events, interacting with many of you in person, getting to know you a little bit, and hearing about what God is doing in and through you.

Three Questions to Ask Before Accepting Advice

Now that we've thought through what standpoint epistemology is and why it is not accurate, the question becomes: How can we and our children discern whether or not to take advice from someone without falling into the error of standpoint epistemology? I think there are three questions we can ask ourselves to make sure we are being wise when we are figuring out whether or not to accept the counsel someone has given us.

Question 1: Am I accepting this person's advice simply because they have a certain lived experience?

We know as Christians we should always hold up the counsel we receive against the unchanging truth of God's Word. And so it can be easy to just blindly accept the advice we receive from someone who has a certain lived experience and, in our minds, appears to be an expert. Going to someone for advice who has a certain lived experience can be a wise thing to do, but we just need to make sure we are holding up that advice against the standard of God's Word, and not blindly accepting the counsel that person has given simply because they have a certain lived experience.

Question 2: Am I rejecting this person's advice simply because they lack a certain lived experience?

Again, we should always hold up the counsel we receive against the unchanging truth of God's Word, and God's Word is true regardless of the experiences of the person sharing it. So we need to ask ourselves, "Am I just rejecting this counsel without holding it up against Scripture?"

That's kind of like what I was doing in the story I shared, where that person gave me advice on things I could do in the classroom and I just rejected it. I didn't hold it up against the light of Scripture initially, because I just thought, "Oh, this person doesn't have any classroom experience, so clearly they can't speak into this area." So we need to make sure we're not just rejecting things because someone does not have certain lived experience. We need to ask ourselves whether or not what they're sharing aligns with God's Word.

Question 3: Am I studying Scripture each week so that I can more accurately discern when ideas stem from Scripture and when they do not?

We should be growing in our knowledge of God's Word so that it becomes easier and easier and easier over time to discern whether what we are hearing, and the counsel we've been given, stems from Scripture or whether it does not.

Keep Growing in Discernment

If you have a question you would like me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview podcast, you can submit it at foundationworldview.com/podcast.

If you want to help the kids in your care practice weighing every idea against the truth, take a look at the Foundation Careful Thinking Curriculum for ages 10 and up. You can also sign up for our newsletter below.

As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is the same as always: that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son.