Science & Ideology Flashcards
Open belief system(Merton)
Science can only thrive as a social institution if it receives support from others.
Merton CUDO Norms
Communism- Scientists must share their knowledge so it can grow
Universalism- science is examined by objective criteria
Disinterested- being committed to discovering knowledge
Organised scepticism- no knowledge claim is sacred- every idea is open to questioning
Purist ideology
Suggests there are different types of social groups with their own ideology that live along side or each other. They have their own ways of interpreting the world -totemism Durkheim
Berger
Views religion as a ‘sacred canopy’ providing supernatural protection against events
How is ideology different to religion
- ideology doesn’t have sacred/ supernatural aspects
- religion isn’t tied to the interests of a social group
Importance of science
- provides medicine
- technology- more communication
- transport
Robert lamas
“Todays society has absolute trust in science”
Problems of religion -Bruce
It is scientific discoveries that provide the greatest challenge to religion. E.g. the existence of God cannot he proved
Kuhn
Scientific fields undergo periodic “paradigm shifts” - changing with new discoveries, rather than solely professing in a continuous way- these shifts open up new approaches to understanding.
