Scientific Critical Theory

The application of Critical Theory's insights to scientific practice: examining how power, social structures, and historical contexts shape scientific knowledge. Who funds research? Whose questions get asked? Whose bodies get studied? Who benefits from findings? Scientific Critical Theory doesn't reject science but subjects it to relentless critique, revealing how apparently neutral knowledge serves particular interests. It's science forced to confront its own politics, its own complicities, its own blind spots. Uncomfortable, necessary, and always asking "cui bono?"—who benefits?

"This medical research claims to be universal, but Scientific Critical Theory asks: who funded it? Who was in the sample? Who profits from the findings? Who's excluded from the conversation? Not because the science is wrong—because understanding power is part of understanding truth."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Epistemological Critical Theory

The theory that knowledge is always entangled with power—that what counts as knowledge, who gets to be a knower, and which methods are legitimate are shaped by social structures, historical forces, and material interests. There is no knowledge from nowhere, no view from nowhere, because knowers are always situated in systems of power. Epistemological Critical Theory doesn't despair at this but uses it: by exposing the power in knowledge, we can work toward more just, more complete, less oppressive ways of knowing.

"You think your epistemology is neutral? Epistemological Critical Theory says: it was developed by privileged Europeans, institutionalized in colonial universities, and enforced through academic gatekeeping. Your 'neutral' knowledge is power pretending not to be. Check your epistemic privilege."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Critical Science

Science that explicitly incorporates critique into its practice—not just doing science, but constantly questioning its own assumptions, methods, and implications. Critical Science asks: who benefits? Who's excluded? What are we not seeing? How might our findings cause harm? It's science that has internalized its social responsibility, that knows knowledge is power and acts accordingly. Not science plus ethics as an afterthought, but science that builds ethical questioning into its very methodology.

"We could build this technology, but Critical Science asks: should we? Who will it harm? Who won't have access? What problems might it create? It's not stopping science—it's doing science with eyes open, knowing that 'can' doesn't imply 'should.'"

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Critical Sciences

An umbrella term for scientific fields that have developed explicit critical traditions examining their own assumptions, methods, and social implications. Critical psychology questions its normalizing function. Critical geography examines how space produces power. Critical neuroscience asks who benefits from brain research. These aren't separate fields but self-aware versions of existing disciplines—sciences that have taken the critical turn and incorporated reflexivity into their core practice.

"Mainstream economics assumes rational actors and efficient markets. Critical Economics asks: whose rationality? Whose efficiency? Who benefits from these assumptions? Critical Sciences are what happen when a discipline grows up and starts questioning its own premises."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Critical Social Sciences

The application of critical theory to the study of society: examining how power, ideology, and social structures shape human life, and how knowledge about society can serve emancipatory interests. Critical Social Sciences don't just describe society—they critique it, revealing oppression, exposing ideology, and working toward transformation. Sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics, when done critically, become tools for understanding and changing unjust structures, not just documenting them.

"Your study describes inequality, but Critical Social Sciences ask: why does it exist? Who benefits? How could it be different? Description without critique is just photography of a car crash—interesting but useless to the victims."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026

Critical Cognitive Sciences

The application of critical theory to the study of mind and brain: examining how cognitive science's assumptions, methods, and findings are shaped by cultural context, power relations, and social structures. Critical Cognitive Science asks: whose mind is being studied? Whose brain counts as "normal"? How do cognitive categories (intelligence, rationality, mental illness) serve social control? It's cognitive science forced to confront that minds don't exist in a vacuum—they're shaped by, and shape, the social world.

"Your study defines 'rationality' in Western terms and finds Western subjects more rational. Critical Cognitive Sciences asks: what if you defined rationality differently? What if your 'universal' mind is actually a specific cultural product? Your findings aren't wrong—they're just less universal than you think."

by Abzugal February 23, 2026