SOCIOLO

GY OF

SCIENCE

THOMAS W

AHL

QUESTION

Do you believe in science?

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

Study of Society - What is a Society?

- How is it constructed, maintained and changed?

Study of Human Social Activity- How do people behave?

- What ”external” (non-cognitive) explanations can we find for this behaviour?

FAMOUS EARLY SOCIOLOGIST

OBJECTS OF STUDY

SOCIOLOGICAL BRANCHES

A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONMacro (structural functionalism):

Biology as a model.

Institution X is a function for society as a whole (society = organism)

Ex. Family’s are a function to transfer our norms to the next generation

Love is a function to maintain families

Micro:

Ex. Humans have a tendency to fall in love with people with whom they share the same class/ethnicity/status because the share the same social life and behaviour and are exposed to each other with in their limited sphere

MODERN DEVELOPMENTS

Culture studies

Gender studies

Post modernism

Post structuralism

Critical realism

Environmental sociology

RELATIVISM & REFLEXION

Sociology teach us that what we regard as natural, unavoidable, god or true are results of historical and social powers and contexts

To know way we regard something as a fact we need to look in to the context that supports the truth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT

No science AND society – only science IN society

No science AND agency – only science AS agency

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE

Science as:

- A Culture

- System of norms

- Discourse

- Society

- Community

- Agency

- Religion

- Capitalism

THE STRONG PROGRAM

As formulated by David Bloor in Knowledge and Social Imagery (1976), the strong programme has four indispensable components:

Causality: it examines the conditions (psychological, social, and cultural) that bring about claims to a certain kind of knowledge.

Impartiality: it examines successful as well as unsuccessful knowledge claims.

Symmetry: the same types of explanations are used for successful and unsuccessful knowledge claims alike.

Reflexivity: it must be applicable to sociology itself.

ETHNOMETODOLOGY – WHAT DO SCIENTIST DO WHEN THE DO SCIENCE?

Woolgar & Latour - Laboratory Life

The talk, write, send papers, argue, presents, defend, drinks coffee,

Agency to the artefacts

Computer says no

INSCRIPTIONS = DATA = AGENCY TO MACHINES

WHAT ”FUNCTION” DOES METHOD HAVE FOR SCIENCE?

It's the details that sell your story!

Comparability

Communication

THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE

- 0ut-there-ness

- Neutrality

- Modality

- Credibility

CONSTRUCTING FACTS

Scientific CommunityScientific

Community

Facts are

Brought in Placed outScientific optimism

Reflexive construtivism

SCIENTIFIC STATEMENTS

I belive X

Professor Z claims X

Results from test show that X

X is a fact

SOCIOLOGY OF TRANSLATIONS1. Problematisation

What is the problem that needs to be solved? Who are the relevant actors? Delegates need to be identified that will represent groups of actors. During problematisation, the primary actor tries to establish itself as an obligatory passage point (OPP) between the other actors and the network, so that it becomes indispensable.

2. Interessement

Getting the actors interested and negotiating the terms of their involvement. The primary actor works to convince the other actors that the roles it has defined for them are acceptable.

3. Enrollment

Actors accept the roles that have been defined for them during interessement.

4. Mobilization of allies

Do the delegate actors in the network adequately represent the masses? If so, enrollment becomes active support.

WHY MESS THINGS UP?

How does experts learn?

How to argue for science?

How do you construct good solid facts?

There is no where to run!

QUESTION:

Do you BELIVE in science?