Einstein Presentation

Sociology of Science

By Jailene Rodriguez

Aim and Focus

The aim of the Sociology of Science is to interpret and explain scientific knowledge. Sociology of Science is more commonly known as the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK). SSK focuses on developing a framework in which social factors influence the idea of scientific knowledge. This presentation is based on, "HERE AND EVERYWHERE: Sociology of Scientific Knowledge" by Steve Shapin.

"To remove 'the social' from the idea of scientific knowledge was said to remove its status as knowledge"(Shapin 1995).

Scope

Specific areas of study within SSK include:

• What constitutes scientists to behave logically
• How do scientists recognize something as fact
• Explaining the objectivity of science
• To what extent social influences infiltrate science
• How scientific knowledge travels

Research methods

In his paper, Shapin argues that SSK should be studied in the same way that a sociologist would study any culture. Because of this, there are no methodologies that are specific to SSK. Research methods include:

• participant observations
• ethnography
• in-depth interviews
• content analysis
• surveys

Robert Merton is known as the founding father of the Sociology of Science. He came up with his own four values in the subfield, which are universalism, communality, disinterestedness, and organised skepticism....

Universalism: Scientific claims must be objective and found by the scientific method. Communality: Science is common property and scientifc progress relies on communication and sharing of scientific knowledge. This is similar to Shapin's idea that one person does not hold all scientific knowledge. Disinterestedness: Science should be conducted without bias and for the sake of science, not self-interest. Organized skepticism: Proof and verification are essential for scientific knowledge to be fact. Examples of this include peer review and reproducability.

Merton's 4 values

The objectivity of science

A big question that SSk seeks to address is how science is viewd objectively. Scientific knowledge is held massively on trust. Recognizing scientists and authors as trustworthy is necessary for a scientist to conduct experiments and conduct accurate analysis of the natural world .

SSK combines three fields that are necessary to be a successful sociologist of scientific knowledge

Science, knowledge, and sociology

Science

SSK is not a popular subfield of sociology because it requires a general knowledge of natural science. Many sociologists get scared by having to learn how to conduct and use science and technology. This gives SSK a reputation as a "hard" subfield with little career opportunities.

Knowledge

The sociology of knowledge is intertwined with SSK. Shapin argues that scientists learn about the natural world the same way that children learn, which is by information from trusted sources. A large part of conducting science relies on trusting and learning from others.

Sociology

Combining science and knowledge into a subfield of sociology allows one to examine science from a social point of view.

The applications of SSK

SSK has many applications which include:

• Science communication
• Liberal education
• Analysis and formulation of science and technology policy
• Technology and medicine development
• Investigating research bias

Thank you!