Science words like Speleology

Word: Speleology
OED: "The scientific study of caves."

Irigaray uses several scientificly-rooted words to describe and indeed support several of her claims that she admits are "impossible" to reconcile with the text that Plato gives us (243). Science--the "state or fact of knowing"--seems to be a far cry from "metaphorical projects" .... and theatrics, and fantasies, and fiction, etc. (243-257). Science seems more concerned with the truth of things--their origin--which is clearly one aspect, if not one of the central aspects, of Irigaray's work.

The cave, however (obviously), does not literally exist--at least, we cannot be in a "state or fact of knowing" that it does or does not exist, so it's not really science (maybe). But using scientific words is certainly convincing. I chose Speleology because I wasn't sure what it meant--but Irigaray uses other familiar words like topography (the "science of describing a particular place"), supposition, deduction, fission, "proofs of objectivity"--and even Speculum is defined as "a mirror or reflector used for some scientific purpose" (oed.com). I kept having to remind myself that this is a fictional place--it's "a place like a womb" that doesn't exist. While I'm not sure how much of this I comprehended, I still found myself convinced by the scientific words that I must trust for some naive and disappointing reason.