Beliefs - Introduction Flashcards
What do Berger and Luckman (1967) say about beliefs?
They are formed in context (‘universes of meaning’)
Need to be reinforced and legitimised to keep being relevant
In that sense there’s no difference between scientific theories, political beliefs and religion
Horton (1970) Open vs Closed belief systems?
Science - knowledge is provisional, open to criticism, challenge through testing, evolving
Religion - absolute truth, knowledge is sacred, fixed, Divine authority legitimises, ‘get out clauses’ prevent disapproval, against social change
Polyani (1958) what 3 devices can you use to sustain your belief system when there’s contradictory evidence?
Circularity - arguments proven by themselves e.g the evidence to god exists is the statement ‘god exists’
Subsidiary explanations - adding a clause to explain other things that deflects the focus of the argument ‘god works in mysterious ways’
Denial of legitimacy - completely reject the rivals belief systems principals
What is Evans-Pritchard (1936) Witchcraft among the Azande?
Sudan’s Azande explain misfortune through witchcraft
An elders magic oracle makes a potion and feeds it to a chicken, if the chicken dies the person is guilty and can be asked to stop
Witchcraft is an unconscious psychic power coming from the intestines and the person can apologise and stop
This cannot be falsified but keeps the peace
Whats an example of religions being an open belief system?
The C of E felt the need to allow women bishops in 2015 or risk becoming out of touch with society (Herberg (1960) internal secularisation - diluting core beliefs)
When did modern science begin?
18th century Europe - ‘The Enlightenment’
What does Merton (1973) say about the context and ethos of science?
Study of nature led to an appreciation of God’s work encouraged experiments
Technology can support social welfare
Economic and military endorsed scientific development cause it is valuable
What should serve the goal of increasing scientific knowledge?
Communism - all scientific knowledge should be shared
Universalism - all scientists are equal, so what they’re doing should be judged not who they are
Disinterestedness - scientific institutions act for the benefit of science, not personal gain
Organized scepticism - all scientific work should be re-tested and assessed before being accepted
Negatives to science?
Climate change (fossil fuels)
Weaponary
Biological warfare
Consumerism (mass production)
Science as a social construction/closed belief system?
Interprevists - knowledge is socially constructed by groups using resources available to them
‘Facts’ come from a shared culture that prejudices expectations
Knorr-Cetina (1999) new instruments permit scientists to ‘fabricate’ new facts, so is science ‘real’ (lab is synthetic)
Whats an example of Polyani (1958)s self-sustaining beliefs theory applied to science?
Sexual selection theory
Adapted to flee famine theory
Whats Thomas Kuhn Structure of Scientific Revolution (1962)?
All scientists are human and and will prioritise data that proves their point as they want to hold onto their own theories
Eventually they will let it go if its been contradicted many times
What is Karin Knorr-Centina’s view on science?
Science is constrained by existing theories and technologies, and theories direct scientists as to what to look for and how to see it, meaning it is not objective
E.g. theory of evolution i reacts scientists to examine fossils to see how they fit into the cycle
What is Giddens (1991) view on science?
Experience shows all theories can be discarded = scepticism
Science is a source of risk and danger (e.g. Chernobyl 1986)
Required attitudes to study it are contradictory (e.g approval and disquiet, enthusiasm and antipathy)
What is Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984)’s view on science?
People have lost faith in metanarratives (which explain everything) e.g Christianity, Marxism
Science is a metanarrative which many people distrust
It’s seen as supporting industry and commerce rather than the better good
