Sociology of scientific knowledge
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
- "Whatever view of science and the sociology of scientific knowledge is correct, it is a fact that in the history of science there have been many instances of new theories (e.g., germ theory of disease, finitude of the speed of light, radioactivity) being ridiculed and shunned by the greater scientific community when first proposed or discovered, only later to be adopted as more probably accurate. Even presently, "pseudoscience" has become a somewhat odious term for paradigms which incorporate beliefs or methods which are outside the pale of "orthodox" scientific paradigm." --Sholem Stein
The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), closely related to the sociology of science, considers social influences on science. Practitioners include Gaston Bachelard, David Bloor, Paul Feyerabend, Elihu M. Gerson, Thomas Kuhn, Martin Kusch, Bruno Latour, Susan Leigh Star, Anselm Strauss, Lucy Suchman, Harry Collins, and others.
These thinkers (sociologists, philosophers of science, historians of science, anthropologists and computer scientists) have engaged in controversy concerning the role that social factors play in scientific development relative to rational, empirical, and other factors.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Sociology of scientific knowledge" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
