Science is a close system Flashcards
What are the three arguments that science is a close system?
The Velkovski affair
Paradigms
Interpretivism
The velikovsky affairs
Velikovsky published a book called world of collision, and this challenged the paradigm
After this work has been published efforts had been made to block the sharing of his ideas and punish those who supported his investigations
Rather than sharing ideas and attempting to falsify them, they silenced his work because it contradicted their beliefs
Paradigms
This is a shared set of assumptions
Kuhn that scientific knowledge is cumulative this is because it builds upon achievements of previous scientists in order to develop create a greater understanding of the world around us.
However, he argues that scientific development is not gradual
And that scientists work within what is called paradigm which is common methods and practices
And at the paradigm lays down the broad outline and scientists fill the gaps
Interpretivism
Interpretivist have developed kuhns ideas, arguing that all knowledge is socially constructed
Rather than being objective, the fact show what they should expect to see
When confronted with evidence, they have to decide what it means, and persuade others of their interpretation
For example, Cambridge University students discovered objects in the sky that admitted, regular pulses of radio waves
First, they believed it had made contact with alien civilisation and the first four sources were called little green men
Conflict theories
Marxism believe that science is controlled by the powerful and therefore is an ideology
They believe that science knowledge serves the interest of the dominant group in society
And this benefits capitalism
Feminist believe that science has been manipulated to support male domination in society
For example, the scientific fact that women had smaller brains than men was used to justify women being denied the vote and access to education
