Ideology and Science Flashcards
What is a belief system?
A set of ideas with different sources that can be classfied as religious, philosophical or ideological that influence individuals/social systems.
What is science? (4)
There are no universal definitions, instead there are characteristics.
Objectivity
Unbiased
Empiricla evidence
How have developments in scientific beliefs helped individuals in society? (4)
Fertility
Medicine
Hygiene
Education.
What are examples of problems caused by developments in science? (4)
Global warming
Pollution
Animal/human testing
Weapons of mass destruction.
What did Beck argue? (2)
We are living in a risk society and people have created problems without knowing.
Universal risks: we can’t escape them and they are global regardless of your background.
How is science different from religion? (3)
Religion has a monopoly of truth and science doesn’t.
Religion is a closed belief system and science is open.
Religion isn’t open to questioning but science is.
What does Popper argue and what is an example? (3)
Science is open to the principle of flasification where scientists falsify their hypothesis and try to prove it wrong.
Science is not an absolute truth but it can be tested and questioned.
E.G: Used to have 9 planets but Pluto is now a dwarf planet.
What does Merton argue? (6)
Science has a set of norms know as CUDOS.
Communism
Universalism
Disinterestedness
Organised
Sceptism.
Is religion open or closed?
It is closed as it is not open to question and claims to be perfect.
How can science as an open belief system be criticised? (4)
Polyani argues that it is closed and it has 3 mechanisms to sustain their beliefs.
Circularity: Each ideas in a system is explained in terms of another idea and so on.
Subsidiary Explanations: secondary explanations like prayers not being answered because individuals haven’t been praying correctly.
Denial of legitmacy to rivals: reject alternative world views by refusing to grant them any legitmacy.
What does Kuhn argue? (3)
Scientists have paradigms which is a shared way of thinking.
They reject fundamentalist challenges to their beliefs.
There are paradigm shifts which is where there is a major change om how people think which changes the paradigm.
What contemporary example relates to Kuhn?
In the beginning, people didn’t want to believe that the Astrazeneca vaccine was dangerous so they got shut out. Denial of legitimacy of rivals.
How do Interpretivists criticse science? (2)
They believe that all scientific knowledge is socially constructed and it is created by social groups using the resources available to them.
It is subjective and they just have to get their colleagues to believe them.
What are theoretical criticisms of science? (2)
Marxists and Feminists see scientific knowledge as far from the truth as it serves the interest of big businesses and men.
Postmodernists reject the knowledge claims of science as the truth as science is a metanarrative that can dominate people’s thinking.
What is ideology?
A system of ideas and ideals, which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.