Everything about Science Studies totally explained
Science studies is an
interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific
expertise in a broad social, historical, and philosophical context. It is concerned with the history of scientific
disciplines, the interrelationships between science and society, and the alleged covert purposes that underlie scientific claims. While it's critical of science, it holds out the possibility of broader public participation in science policy issues.
The word "studies" is used (as opposed to, for example,
theory) because most science studies practitioners investigate particular phenomena (technological milieus, laboratory culture, science policy, the role of the university, etc.) without subscribing to a particular view of the topic.
History
Science studies is best understood as a moment in a steadily widening conversation, in which scholars with interests in the social, historical, and philosophical analysis of science and technology have achieved a succession of wider integrations. Numerous disciplines have contributed to this conversation, but two stand out: the
history and philosophy of science and the
sociology of scientific knowledge.
Drawing on the work of
Thomas Samuel Kuhn, especially his
Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), history and philosophy of science united scholars in both disciplines who shared interests in not only the history of science, but also its philosophical underpinnings. Kuhn's work established that the history of science wasn't necessarily a linear succession of discoveries, which bring us closer to the truth, but rather a succession of
paradigms, which are broader, socio-intellectual constructs that determine which types of truth claims are permissible.
Meanwhile, the
sociology of scientific knowledge developed at the University of Edinburgh, where
David Bloor and his colleagues developed an intellectual synthesis, which has been termed the
Strong Programme, which was based on what Bloor called the empirical programme of relativism and the principle of symmetry. In brief, the
Strong Programme holds that science studies scholars should remain neutral with respect to the truth claims science makes: they should explain the success or failure of a scientific theory in the same terms. According to the Strong Programme, the outcome of all scientific controversies—successful or not—should be explained by social factors.
As science studies programs took shape, scholars were drawn into the conversation from other disciplines, including
history of science and technology,
sociology of science,
philosophy of science,
rhetoric of science,
anthropology,
literature,
art history,
cultural studies,
gender studies,
history of consciousness,
medicine,
law and
computer science (see
Scientific Community Metaphor).
In the 1980s, a turn to technology occurred as science studies scholars such as
Wiebe Bijker and
Steve Woolgar argued that technology could be examined using the principle of symmetry. As a result, many science studies programs added "technology" to their names, and started calling their field
Science and technology studies This "turn to technology" brought science studies into communication with academics in science, technology, and society programs.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Science Studies'.
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