Sociology of Science Flashcards
Merton introduced three social norms governing science as a social enterprise. What are they? Briefly explain them.
Universalism: when we want to do science, we agree that we should put our personal attachments aside. Personal attitude is irrelevant to science and should have no influence.
Communalism: when you create a theory, the whole community owns that idea. There is a common ownership of scientific ideas, so everyone has the right to read them and use them.
Disinterestedness: scientists must remain objective. They must keep their personal interests in check and remain neutral.
Organized skepticism: as soon as you present your work, the community does not immediately accept the results. Instead, they have to do their own testing and research. The task of the community is to challenge the theory to see if it holds up.
What is the “reward system” in science, according to Merton?
-Reward system: best reward for scientist is recognition
-Recognition the engine that motivates people to be part of the community (as honor is to the army)
-Disadvantage: people can get greedy/jealous, cheat or lie, etc.
What is the Strong Program in the sociology of science? (Make sure to explain the “symmetry principle”.)
-The Strong Program in the sociology of science uses sociological methods to explain why scientists believe what they do, why they behave as they do, and how scientific thinking and practice change over time.
-The symmetry principle is the core of the program.
-The symmetry principle states that all forms of belief and behavior should be approached using the same kinds of explanations. Therefore, scientific beliefs are products of the same general kinds of forces as other kinds of belief, so there is no significant difference between science and pseudoscience. Truth is defined following socially established local norms within each discipline, so there is no privilege between science and pseudoscience, all theories are equally valuable.
According to the Strong Program, what is the relation between particular scientific theories and their social circumstances, especially, the political interests of the scientists? Briefly explain it.
-The aim was to explain some scientific beliefs in terms of the political “interests” of scientists and their place within society.
-Whoever has the power can determine the narrative, decides the truth
-Science is not objective, it’s political
-Political interests, social status, etc, shape theories
What is the relation between the Strong Program and relativism? Explain it. (Make sure to explain what notion of “relativism” is assumed here.)
-The forms of relativism that are important here concern standards of rationality, evidence, and justification.
-relativism in this context holds that there is no single set of standards entitled to govern the justification of beliefs
-It holds that science has no special authority that extends beyond all local norms. Instead, the norms and standards that govern scientific belief can be justified only from the inside, and that is true of other, nonscientific norms as well.
Implications:
truth is subjective, relative
Problems:
Strong program, set of beliefs is not universally true, true only within certain socially established local norms, from other norms could be garbage, has no universal appeal
If universal, is self refuting
