Science as a Belief System

Annotations:

• many sociologists see modern science as a product of rationalisation  that began with the Protestant reformation 
• rationalisation - process by which rational and scientific ways of thinking and acting gradually replace religious ones. 
• securalisation theorists argue that modern science has undermined religion by changing the way we think and see the world 

1. Impact of Science
   1. good
      1. medicine
      2. higher standard of living
      3. transport
      4. communications
      5. work & leisure
      6. revolutionised economic productivity
   2. bad
      1. pollution
      2. global warming
      3. weapons of mass destruction
   3. cognitive power - enables us to explain, predict and control the world in a way that non-scientific belief systems cannot
2. Open Belief System

   Annotations:

   • reason as to why science has been successful in explaining and controlling the world
   1. Popper - every scientist's theories are open to criticism and testing by others as it is governed by the principle of falsificationism

      Annotations:

      • falsificationism - science consists of statements which can be falsified/disproved by experiments and observation 
      1. discarding falsified knowledge claims is what enables scientific understanding of the world to grow
         1. scientific knowledge is cumulative

            Annotations:

            • builds on the achievements of previous scientists to develop a greater understanding 
   2. no theory is to be taken as definitely true as there is the possibility that someone will produce evidence to disprove it
   3. The CUDOS Norms
      1. Merton - science can only thrive as a major social institution if it receives support from other institutions

         Annotations:

         • science needs a set of norms that make scientists act in certain ways in order to increase our scientific knowledge
      2. Communism - scientists must share their knowledge
      3. Universalism - truth of falsity of knowledge is judged by universal criteria
      4. Disinterestedness - being committed to discovering knowledge for its own sake
      5. Organised Scepticism - no knowledge claim is regarded as sacred and so every idea is open to criticism
3. Closed Belief Systems
   1. Religion claims to have special perfect knowledge of the absolute truth
      1. means claims cannot be challenged
      2. means that religious beliefs do not change
   2. Horton - closed belief systems have a number of devices they use to prevent their beliefs being disproved
      1. Evans-Pritchard - Witchcraft among the azande; attempts to disprove actually reinforces the belief as the people accept the system's basic assumptions
         1. Polyani - belief systems have 3 devices to sustain themselves in the face of contradictory evidence
            1. Circularity - each idea is explained in terms of another idea in the system
            2. Subsidiary explanations - if oracle fails it is due to incorrect use of benge
            3. Denial of legitimacy to rivals - reject alternative world views by refusing to grant them legitimacy
4. Science as a Closed System
   1. Polyani - all belief systems reject fundamental challenges to their knowledge claims (science is no different)
      1. The Case of Velikovsky

         Annotations:

         • put forward a new theory on the origins of the earth; challenges assumptions of geology astronomy and evolutionary biology; scientists rushed to reject it rather than to test it; those who asked to put the theory to the test were victimised and lost their jobs
   2. Kuhn - mature sciences are based on a set of shared assumptions (paradigm) which lays down the broad outlines in which the scientists fill in the details (like puzzle solving)
      1. exception to this is a scientific revolution - when faith in the truth of the paradigm has already been undermined by an accumulation of anomalies allowing scientists to be open to radically new ideas
5. Sociology of scientific knowledge
   1. interpretivists - all knowledge including scientific is socially constructed
      1. scientific facts are the product of shared paradigms
         1. Knorr-Cetina - invention of new instruments allows for new observations; what is studied in the lab is highly constructed and removed from the natural world
   2. Woolgar - scientists engaged in the same process of interpreting the world as everyone else
      1. scientific facts are socially constructed or a belief that scientists are able to persuade their colleagues to be true rather than it being a real thing
   3. marxism feminism and postmodernism see scientific knowledge as serving the interests of dominant groups