Topic 7 - Science and Ideology Flashcards
1
Q
The impact of science
A
- Science = rationalisation (Protestant reformation - 16th century)
- Secularisation theorists = science impacted the influence of religion in the world (empirical = verificationism and fact)
- Cognitive power = allows us to explain through knowledge
- Eradicated diseases through medicine
- Improved standards of living, e.g., through transport, communication, and work lives
- “Faith in science” and belief it can “deliver the goods”
2
Q
A03 The impact of science
A
- Science can also cause problems, e.g., science and technology are responsible for global warming
- Sceince creates “manufactured risks”
3
Q
Open belief system
A
- POPPER = science is an open belief system where every scientist’s theory is open to scrutiny, criticism, and testing by others
- Falsification: seeking new theories that discredit the old ones (T&M), allows science to grow, scientific knowledge is cumulative
- Can never be considered the MoT
- E.g., Copernicus disproved the Sun revolved around the Earth (knowledge claim was fake)
4
Q
The cudos norms
A
- MERTON science is now a major social institution and recieves support from other institutions and values
- England = attitudes created by the Protestant Reformation, Puritanism (link Calvinism)
- Puritans have focus on this worldly benefit, and value social welfare, science could provide technological interventions to inprove society
- Religion and science exist as co-existing narratives
- POPPER = science needs an ethos/goals:
1. Communism
2. Universalism
3. Disinterestedness
4. Organised scepticism
5
Q
Communism
A
- Science is not private property, scientists must share their findings = knowledge grows
6
Q
Universalism
A
- The truth of a discovery is to be judged by objective rather than subjective criteria (e.g., race and sex)
7
Q
Disinterestedness
A
- Being committed to the pursuit of knowledge
- Makes it difficult to destroy the validity of science, e.g., publishing fraudulent results
8
Q
Organised scepticism
A
- No scientific knowledge is considered to be the “sacred truth”
- Allows science to be subject to falsification, allowing it to grow
9
Q
Closed belief system - How religion is different to science
A
- Religion difference to science (falsification)
- Religion claims to have an absolute sacred truth and hold onto “God’s Divine Authority”, those who challenge this seen as sacrilegious
- Religion is not open to falsification = fixed and does not grow
- HORTON religious beliefs do not grow, but make knowledge claims that cannot be successfully overturned
- Religion has “get-out clauses” that reinforce the system and prevent it from being disproved
- EVANS-PRITCARD vary from one belief system to another, e.g., Witchcraft beliefs (AZANDE tripe)
10
Q
Witchcraft and the Azande
A
- Azande people of Sudan believe natural events have natural causes, e.g., snake bit because someone accidentally stepped on it as someone was walking down the path
- They do not believe in chance, e.g., walked down the path lots of times, so why now?
- When misfortune does stike the Azande claim that witchcraft is to blame, e.g., the work of an evil neighbour (a witch)
1. An injured person makes an accusation against a suspected witch
2. A prince is consulted, and gives a benge/potion to a chicken
3. If the chicken dies, the witch was rightly accused and the suffered can go publically and demand an apology
11
Q
What is the purpose of Azande ritual
A
- EVANS PRITCHARD claim this belief system serves social functions, helps clear the air between neighbours and also encourages them to act sociably towards one another
- Azande believe that witchcraft is hereditary, it is passed from father to son, mother to daughter, accusation has familial reprecussions
- Cooporation and conformity (social solidarity)
12
Q
Chicken and the Benge
A
- Benge fed to the chicken will cause the chicken to die
- This death does not disprove evil, reinforces the idea of witchcraft
- EVANS PRITCHARD trapped within their own idiom of belief
13
Q
How do closed systems survive
A
- POLANYI: they are self-sustaining:
1. Circulatory
2. Subsidiary explanations
3. Denial of legitimacy to rivals
14
Q
Circulatory
A
- Ideas within the belief system are connected to eachother, making it hard to criticise one in isolation, e.g., witchcraft and the benge are reliant
15
Q
Subsidary explanation
A
- If the benge fails to kill, it disproves the accusation of witchcraft, not the validity of witchcraft in the first place