SCIENCE IS NOT SUPERIOR TO RELIGION Flashcards
Science is not truly open as it is restricted by paradigms
KUHN:
-most big scientific fields are restricted by paradigms:assumptions which are made by scientists and what evidence they should focus on and which should be developed
-When a paradigm has been established, scientists are expected to work to find more evidence to support it and if they go against it they may face ridicule.
EXAMPLE:Behe who developed theory of intelligent design to go against the theory of evolution, he found an organism which was too complex for evolutionary.He was mocked and taken to court to ensure this wasn’t taught in schools
-Paradigm shifts (old paradigm being replaced with a new one) occur but slowly
Evaluation:
-Kuhns theory is outdated.Technology has advanced
-Popper argues falsification
Scientific knowledge is not objective truth but is a social construction
Social construction:theories developed are merely being created by scientists themselves as opposed to being objective truths
WOOLGAR:
-social construction of scientific theories will be largely influenced by prior knowledge, culture and values of the scientists themselves
-When interpreting evidence, scientists try to make sense of it by basing it of theories they already believe are true
EXAMPLE:the little green men theory:sound recorded from space which was thought to be ailens train to communicate, however in British society the existence of aliens is not accepted as true so it was dismissed and labelled as coming from the stars
Evaluation:
-before a scientific theory is published it has to go through peer review, so it does have an unbias opinion
-Positivist argue that scientific research is reliable as it can be repeated
Scientists don’t work for the benefit of all but only benefits those power
CONFLICT SOCIOLOGISTS-MARXIST AND FEMINIST
-scientific theories traditionally only benefit those in power
EXAMPLE-FEMINSIST:research one into mental illness and link made between women having a uterus and developing mental illnesses.Used by male doctors to justify locking women in mental asylums so men didn’t have to take care of their wives
-Even with developing diagnosis of illnesses like depression, women are still more likely to be diagnosed with mental illnesses and have invasive treatment
EXAMPLE-MARXIST:claims made about black people being less intelligent which was used to justify slavery
POSTMODENIST:
-all knowledge is relative and no such thing as objective truth
-scientific fields of knowledge wrongly claim to possess objective truth which has contributed to developments of problems in the wider world
-scientific developments have become techno sciences:used to benefit capitalism and western world rather than allowing everyone to make progress globally
-advances in technology eg development of phones and social media has done lots of damage to the world
EG-environmental damage and rise in mental health issues
-scientists continue to push ahead with their work because they are unwilling to see the damage they are doing
EVALUATION:
-science has improved overtime an recognises mistakes were made and it was won to justify control and oppression of certain social groups
-small part of scientific work benefits capitalism
