Area studies claims true knowledge only of things that exist

Evidence

Against the traditional Orientalist, therefore, the new area-studies specialist argues philosophically:

Research methodology and disciplinary paradigms are not to determine what is selected for study, and they are not to limit observation. Area studies, from this perspective, hold that true knowledge is only possible of things that exist, while methods and theories are abstractions, which order observations and offer explanations according to non-empirical criteria.

— Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 759

Categorization

• DEFINE: Sets out the area-studies epistemology that opposes traditional Orientalist philology — a distinction the reader’s field continually invokes.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 759