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 EXPLANATION
Macro (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?
Comparability
Communication
It's the details that sell your story!
THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE
-
0ut-there-ness
-
Neutrality
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Modality
-
Credibility
CONSTRUCTING FACTS
Facts are
Scientific optimism
Brought in
Placed out
Reflexive construtivism
Scientific Community
SCIENTIFIC STATEMENTS
I belive X
Professor Z claims X
Results from test show that X
X is a fact
SOCIOLOGY OF TRANSLATIONS
1. 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?