L7+L8 Feyerabend Flashcards
What is ‘Scientism’?
A form of excessive belief in the power of scientific knowledge and techniques.
A belief system about science.
What two things did Feyerabend’s critics say he was confusing with one another?
Science and Scientism
What is a ‘post-traditional’ society?
One where globalization and education have altered the traditional relationship between professionals and their clients.
Less trusting, more willing to look outside of expert opinion etc.
What is the ‘Traditional Sociology of Science’ interested in?
How science is organised as a dominant institution in our society
and
How scientific errors come about
What ethic did Robert Merton say gave rise to Science in England and the west?
Puritanism
What are the 3 cultural values of ‘Puritanism’
Utility
Rationality
Individualism
What does utility mean in regards to the Puritan Ethic?
Things are regarded in terms of their ‘usefulness’
Anything that was decorative, superfluous or unnecessary was morally wrong.
Being superficial, caring about flashy personal appearance etc. was immoral.
What does ‘rationality’ mean in regards to the Puritan Ethic?
The rational way of understanding things is being only objective and entirely without emotion.
The ethic and the morals of it don’t concern you so much.
You can develop the atomic bomb, just because its science, screw the morals.
What does individualism mean in regards to the Puritan Ethic?
Debate and discussion aren’t as much of a concern as it should be left up to the experts. It’s up to mental processing.
What philosophy did Robert Merton create?
Traditional Sociology of Science
What are Merton’s 4 Norms of Science?
- Universalism
- Communism
- Organized Scepticism
- Disinterestedness
What is Merton’s Norm of Universalism?
All knowledge claims in science should be assessed on the basis of impersonal criteria.
Personal issues (race, religion) should never be a component of the assessment in any way.
What is Merton’s Norm of Communism?
Knowledge should be freely shared in science.
What is Merton’s Norm of Organized Scepticism?
All scientific knowledge claims should continually be assessed in terms of:
1) how coherently they fit within a particular theory
and
2) their empirical accuracy
What is Merton’s Norm of Disinterestedness?
Scientific status should be gained through merit rather than through forms of patronage or social position or wealth.
What are the three other proposals that others have added to Merton’s Norms of Science?
1) Originality
2) Humility
3) Emotional Neutrality
What view of science is the traditional sociology of science based on?
Why? (What characteristics does this have)
The ‘received view’ of science
It is based on the view that science:
- Science deals in facts*
- Science is impersonal*
- Science involves rigorous testing*
- Scientists are neutral observers*
- Reliability and validity of scientific facts*
How did Merton describe how fraud comes about within science?
When scientists refuse to follow the 4 ‘Norms of Science’.
How should deviations from the Norms of Science be explained according to Merton?
In Psychological and Sociological terms.
- e.g. Individual ambition (goes against disinterestedness, psychological problem)*
- Prejudices against groups leading to not listening ideas (psychological problem)*
How is true belief assumed to come about, and how should we explain error?
True belief: Come out of virtue of objective observation of the world as it is (science).
Error: should be explained through sociological and psychological factors that impacted the science.
What is The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) concerned with?
Exploring the sorts of social processes that are involved in determining what counts as true or false scientific belief.
What is science according to Constructionist Theory? (Relativist position)
Scientific inquiry considered not to be an objective pursuit of truth, but rather a social institution, which actively and systematically produces specific versions of reality and truth.
Claims are generated because where they are produced, and who they are produced by.
What did the constructionist Anderson (2011) mean by ‘knowers are situated’
What can be known by an individual or group depends on their situation.
Their housing, gender, prior worldview etc.
