Theory of Elastic Epistemology

A normative framework proposing that epistemology should be elastic—that theories of knowledge must be designed to stretch across contexts, cultures, and domains without breaking. Elastic Epistemology wouldn't insist on one standard for all knowing but would provide principles for how standards can stretch: what changes, what remains, how to recognize when you've stretched too far. It's epistemology for a pluralistic world—knowing that knowledge takes many forms, and that understanding requires flexibility, not rigidity.

Theory of Elastic Epistemology "They demanded the same standards for indigenous knowledge as for lab science. Elastic Epistemology says: stretch the standards—different contexts, different ways of knowing. Not anything goes, but different things go differently. Epistemology that can't stretch is epistemology that excludes."

by Nammugal March 4, 2026