Science Against Oppression and Pseudoscientific Dogma

In recent decades, critiques of scientific universalism have grown among postcolonial scholars and epistemologists, highlighting how modern science has been used to dominate non-Western knowledge systems. The notion of "epistemicide" describes the systematic suppression of diverse epistemologies under a singular scientific worldview. Many movements now challenge science's legitimacy and endorse epistemic relativism. Yet such positions risk conflating science with its historical abuses, neglecting the distinction between robust scientific practice and pseudoscientific distortions. This essay discusses pseudoscience-defined as a discourse that mimics science but lacks rigorous methodology-as a potent tool of social oppression. Examples like eugenics, phrenology, hysteria diagnoses, "conversion therapies," and climate change denial demonstrate how pseudoscientific narratives reinforce sexism, racism, and other structural inequalities. Integrating philosophy of science, critical theory, and historical analyses, the authors argue that abandoning science is not the answer. Instead, science should be strengthened methodologically, ethically, and inclusively. By clarifying science's boundaries and exposing pseudoscience's role in social oppression, this work contributes to current debates on epistemic justice and advocates a model of science that is critically reflexive and socially transformative.