The Epistemic Horizon in the Writings of Abdelkader Bouarfa Toward a Critical Social Epistemology

Abstract

Explore this study the epistemological horizon within the project of the philosopher and researcher Abdelkader Bourafa as articulated in his recent works (2021–2026), through a critical analysis of four of his most prominent publications. Across their texts, the study identifies a serious attempt to delineate social epistemology within the field of the human and social sciences, with the aim of forming the critical human subject.

Adopt the study a qualitative content-analysis methodology to examine conceptual transformations in Bourafa’s works, beginning with a critique of the epistemological foundations of contemporary social sciences, moving through an analysis of the phenomenon of “epistemic chaos” as an opportunity for reconfiguration, and culminating in the reactivation of the Arab-Islamic heritage as an effective cognitive system.

Conclude the study that Bouarfa proposes an alternative epistemological project that transcends traditional binaries (authenticity/modernity, heritage/modernity, reason/transmission, predecessor/successor) by centering the “question” as a foundational structure of knowledge. This orientation opens new horizons for reshaping the Arab cognitive mind within a polycentric global context.

Discuss the study as well the intersections of this project with the literature on the critique of reason, particularly in the works of Mohammed Abed al-Jabri and Taha Abderrahmane, highlighting the specificity of the Bourafa an approach in assimilating contemporary global transformations.