BINS Mini topic 7- Sci V Rel V Ideology Flashcards
Science V. Religion
What is a belief system
belief system- a set of ideas that claim to have knowledge about reality ( a way of seeing the world)
religion, science, ideology- all belief systems
religon- claims ab the world/ what it should be like
political ideologies- claims ab how soc should be organised
science- claims ab how the world is
therefore, they all make knowledge claims.
Can be open- open to criticism, testing,scrutinisation, challenged & based on evidence
Closed- not accepting of criticism, testing etc
backg info about science
- science- product of rationalisation- developed during englightenment
- empirical evidence
- objective
- rational & logical
- testable
- inductive method- carried out to gather evidence.
in modernity 19th &20th century - sci ach- medical, technological, travel- created faith in science- belief that science has all answers & will solve humanity problems. - englightenment project.
However, as we enter postmodernity there are- scientific drawbacks- pollution, global warming, weapons of mass destruction - have dimmed faith in science.
Science open belief system- Comte
Sci is diff to other belief systems
soc passed through 3 stages of dvpt;
1- theological stage- pre-18th cent- religious beliefs were dominant & cant be questioned
2- metaphysical stage- 18th cent- philosophical beliefs - dominant, rationality used to decide what they believe.
3- positive stage- 19th cent- science is the dominant- people only believe things that are falsifiable, can be proven w evidence & objectiv knowledgle. beliefs based on facts
therefore- sci is diff to all other belief systems bc there matter of faith (subjective) & sci is on facts.
Sci open BS- Popper
popper- open bc its open to scrutiny, testing by other bc sci knowledge is not sacred or absolute truth- it can be falsified.
sci governed by falsificationism- sci try to falsify dxisting theories for as long as a theory remains unfalsified it is accepted as the truth. (until its disproved)
Sci is cumulative- builds on ach of prev sci to develop greater understadning of the world.
DIFFERENCE W COMTE & POPPER- comte argues sci discovers laws that are true for all time, Popper acknowledges they are only true till falsified.
Merton- adds to Popper- why has it grown so rapidly
Bc science needed sppt from other inst to grow
- Started in england through protestant work ethic of puritans (type of calvinism) believed that study of nature leads to greater appreciation of God’s creation. encouraged them to experiment. puritans- believed in importance of social welfare & believed sci can improve living standards.
Sppt from economic & military inst- practical applications for mining, navigation & weaponry
Merton- sci aim 2 inc sci kowledge & follow CUDOS norms that guide their work , cudos norms;
1- communism - not private property, must be shared w other scientists who can build on it
2- universalism- judged by universal objective criteria & is tested rather than judged
3- Disinterestedness- for own sake, not motivated by fame & cant cheat results of research
4- Organised scepticism- not sacred, open to falisifiability
C++- has an idealistic view, theyre motivated by fame/ Nobel prize
Science V. Religion
Comte, Popper & Merton- see sci as completley diff to religion
Bc science falisifiable, Religion- claims monopoly of the truth so cant be challenged, knwoledge is fixed and cant crow
Rel as closed belief system- Horton
Horton- agrees sci is open belief system
Also argues rel is a closed belief system bc claims to have sprical, perfect knoweldge of the absolute truth. truth is sacred bc comes from gods divine authroity- cant be challenged or changes.
Horton- if religon is challenged in the eyes of the believers is has a no. of devices that reinforce it & prevent disporven.
rel closed belief system- Evans-Pritchard
Evans-pritchard study of Azande people from Sudan.
Azande- dont believe in coincidence, they believe someone has practiced witchcraft against them ( eg if bitten by a snake)
injured person amkes an accusation & matter is resolved b consilting the princes magic poision oracle
princes diviner administers a potion called Benge to a chicken while asking the benge whether the accused is the source of the witcharf & telling it to kill the chicken if the asnwer is yes. if the chicken dies the injured person can publicly demand the accused stops the witchcraft.
Azande- also believe witchcraft is a psychic power comign from substance in withces intestine, so can happen unintentionally, allows the accused to proclaim surprise & apologise.
the religion ensures cooperation & confomirt among the azande.
Evans P also shows how witchcraft protects itself from being disproven- if a non belieber argued the benge killed the chicken without the divoner telling it do it it would prove the oracle didnt work but azande would say the bemge was not good.
Sci closed belief system- Kuhn
Kuhn claims sci is also closed like religon as it rejects challenges to knowledge (paradigm)
scientists work within a Parsdigm- set of shared assumptions & beliefs, these are guidelines for work , scientists tend to reject anything that challenges the paradigm e.g took 50y for newtons theory to be accepted, Galileo put on trial for his claim that earth revolves around the sun, darwin ridiculed for evolutionary theory. yet today these are the paradigm.
Only exception- Sci revolution- enough data has been accumulatd to show paradigm is not true- so sci become more open 2 new ideas.
Sci closed belief system- Dr Velivosky
in 1950s dr velivosky published a new theory on origins of the earth- in opposition to geology & biology
many sci responded by rejecting Velivoskys theory w out reading the book, if popper is right scientists wouldve tested.
closed bc it rejects challenges to the paradigm
Both religion & sci closed- Polanyi
Sci & R have three devices of protection when challenges
1- circularity- each idea explained in terms of another idea so argument goes in circles
2- subsidiary explanations- use of other possible explanations
3- denial of leg to rivals- denial of claims made.
SCIENCE AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT- Interpretivists
interpretvisits- all knwoledge is socially constructed- created by social grouos using reosurces available rather than the objective truth.
scie facts- socially constructed withitn sci communitis bc the facts they take for truth are the products of shared theories and paradigms
e.g Knorr- Cetina- argues the wrok scientists do in labs is highly constructed eg animals are specially bred, water pruified etc. so what they are studying is removed from the natural world they claim theyre studing. inventions of new equipment eg microscopes enable sci to fabricate new facts
Woolgar- sci engage in interpreting the world like everyone else, when confornted they have to decide what it means
eg Discovery of pulsars- camrbidge uni 1967- at first sci labelled patterns shown on prinouts as lgm1 lgm2 standing for little greenmen but if they had published under that namr theyd be ridiculed by sci commu so renames it pulsating neuron stars. woolgar therefore argues scientific facts are just what sci manage to persuade other sci to agree with rather than being a real thing that exists.
Berger and Luckmann- universes of meaning- to make sense of human life. they need constant legitimation which is done through belief systems which are socially constructed w purpose to legtiiate & justify universe.
therefore all belief systems- poltiical, scientific & religious are equally valid. sci- grounds the universe of meaning for reason & evidence. religious- justification for laws
Marxist & Fem critical views on science
Marxists & Feminists- sci as far from pure truth. Argue sci serves interests of the powerful groups in society
e.g marxists- advances in sci have been drivem by needs of capitalism. technological- pursuit of profit as they make factory production more efficient.
feminists- biology- provides justification for male & colonial domination. fem reject mertons universalism- as scientists careers are affected by gender since women are underrepresneted in scientific occupations
Postmodernist views on science
Pm see science as just one of many metanarratives- none of which are more valid than the rest
Lyotard- science is just another metanarrative that falsely claims to find the truth for the betterment of society. really its another discourse used to dominate people. In PM people have began to lose faith due to neg outcomes- nuclear weapons, global warming- discredited science.
C+ ignores extent to which people still accept other metanarratives e.g religion & nationalism. seems unaware that the fact the PM theory itself is a meta narrative as it claims to have a true view of the world.
Relativism
Science is just one of many beliefs all of which are equally valid.
Gould- science & religion are two non overlapping magisteria (NOMA)- sci provides us with factual knowledge of the world, religion provides moral guidleines. equally valif but seperate role to play.
C+ Dawkins- religious beliefs are a delusion completle at odds w/ scientific knowledge. accepts that sci does not have the answers to everything but doesnt mean religion should be seen as having expertise in such areas either. Dawkins- faith is harmful as it involves believing somethibg with no evidence to back it up. this can lead to acts of terror on religious grounds.
