Critical Theory of Scientific Evidence

The application of Critical Theory to what counts as evidence in science—examining how evidentiary standards are established, who benefits, and what forms of evidence are marginalized. Critical Theory of Scientific Evidence asks: Why is quantitative evidence privileged over qualitative? Why are some forms of testimony dismissed? Who decides what counts as good evidence? How have evidentiary standards been used to exclude marginalized knowers? It doesn't reject evidence but insists that evidentiary standards are never neutral—they're shaped by power, history, and context.

"That's just anecdotal, not real evidence. Critical Theory of Scientific Evidence asks: anecdotal by whose standards? Experience is evidence too—it's just not the kind that fits in spreadsheets. Evidentiary hierarchies reflect power: who gets to define evidence, and whose knowledge gets excluded. Critical theory insists on evidence that includes, not just evidence that measures."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026

Critical Theory of Evidence

The broad application of Critical Theory to evidence in all domains—scientific, legal, historical, personal—examining how evidence is defined, evaluated, and deployed, and how power operates in these processes. Critical Theory of Evidence asks: What counts as evidence in different contexts? Who decides? How do evidentiary standards reflect social hierarchies? What forms of evidence are systematically marginalized? Drawing on epistemology, law and society, and critical methodology, it insists that evidence is never just evidence—it's always embedded in power relations. Understanding evidence requires understanding who gets to define it, who gets to provide it, and who gets to judge it.

"Where's your evidence? they demand. Critical Theory of Evidence asks: what kind of evidence? From whom? Collected how? Evidence isn't neutral; it's produced in contexts of power. The evidence of the powerful is amplified; the evidence of the powerless is dismissed. Critical theory insists on asking: whose evidence counts, and who decides?"

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026