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is being discussed is epistemically justified, to <strong>the</strong> discourse, where whatever justification<br />

<strong>of</strong> knowledge <strong>the</strong>re is, is not based upon epistemology, and back again.<br />

2.5.5.02 An intellectual will tend to operate within <strong>the</strong> discourse, external to <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>discipline</strong>, but, bearing in mind that some, but not all, <strong>academic</strong>s are intellectuals and some<br />

intellectuals also have an <strong>academic</strong> background, an intellectual may also operate on both<br />

sides <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> boundary between discourse and <strong>the</strong> <strong>discipline</strong>. Epistemology creates <strong>the</strong><br />

boundary between <strong>discipline</strong> and discourse. However, it cannot be claimed that such<br />

boundary is clearly delineated, simply because epistemology is subjective, relative to <strong>the</strong><br />

opinion (belief) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> person determining what is considered knowledge.<br />

2.5.5.03 To illustrate this difficulty <strong>of</strong> clearly delineating boundaries <strong>of</strong> knowledge using<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r elephant analogy.<br />

There are three people on a train going to Chiang Mai. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m is an economist<br />

and one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m is a logician and one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m is a ma<strong>the</strong>matician. They have just<br />

crossed <strong>the</strong> border into Chiang Mai province and <strong>the</strong>y see a white elephant standing<br />

in a field from <strong>the</strong> window <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> train (and <strong>the</strong> elephant is standing parallel to <strong>the</strong><br />

train). The economist says, "Look, <strong>the</strong> elephants in Chiang Mai are white." The<br />

logician says, "No, <strong>the</strong>re are elephants in Chiang Mai <strong>of</strong> which one, at least, is<br />

white." And <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>the</strong>matician says, "No. <strong>the</strong>re is at least one elephant in Chiang<br />

Mai, <strong>of</strong> which one side appears to be white" [With all due respect to <strong>the</strong> ‘brown<br />

cow in Scotland tale’, from Wikipedia, which this is derived].<br />

The epistemological justification as to <strong>the</strong> colour <strong>of</strong> elephants in Chiang Mai is, in this<br />

illustration, relative to <strong>the</strong> stance taken by each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> participants, as to what <strong>the</strong>y consider<br />

as qualifying as knowledge. Effectively, <strong>the</strong>re could be three different boundaries between<br />

<strong>the</strong> discourse on, and <strong>the</strong> fictitious <strong>discipline</strong> <strong>of</strong>, elephant studies, as each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

participants in <strong>the</strong> illustration has a different reference point for determining <strong>the</strong> point <strong>of</strong><br />

epistemic justification.<br />

2.5.5.04 Foucault [Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1983, p117] refers to a point <strong>of</strong><br />

epistemologization that ‘discursive formations’ (what I have taken to be <strong>discipline</strong>s) need<br />

to succeed in crossing, to be no longer considered a doubtful science or dubious <strong>discipline</strong><br />

104

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