In the Aftermath of the Radical Empiricist Onslaught

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over fifty years have passed since Marcuse asserted that we are facing “the radical empiricist onslaught”, which he considered to be “the academic counterpart of the socially required behavior”. Reconsidering his claim in our current context, this article argues that we have found ourselves in the aftermath of the radical empiricist onslaught, where the radical empiricist discourse has become the hegemonic discourse of contemporary academia. Examining the place of the radical empiricist discourse in neoliberal governmentality, while analysing certain forms of exclusion this discourse has established in order to maintain its internal coherency, the article invites us to see through the radical empiricism of present-day academia.