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An Intro to STS

Positivism: August Compt (1856): empiricism + rationalism = objective truth, i.e. science.

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An Intro to STS

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  1. Positivism: August Compt (1856): empiricism + rationalism = objective truth, i.e. science. Early 20th century positivists: “Vienna Circle” of Moritz Schlick, Otto Neurath, Rudolf Carnap, A.J. Ayer: all meaningful statements have truth value that can be impacted by empirical observation.  An Intro to STS

  2. Popper Karl Popper broke with the positivists over the issue of verification: science only progresses through falsifiability. Pseudoscience will always make ad-hoc adjustments to “protect” its hypotheses

  3. Kuhn Rudolph Carnap stuck with logical positivism to the end, but made the mistake of asking historian Thomas Kuhn to write an entry for his  International Encyclopedia of Unified Science. Had Kuhn developed his work on his own he would likely have made it large, complex and obscure (for an opposing view see Carnap, Kuhn and Revisionism: On the Publication of "Structure" in "Encyclopedia" J. C. P. Oliveira)

  4. Kuhn “Normal science” just as positivists said, but “revolutionary science” has competing paradigms. Since paradigms are how you interpret data, there is no scientific way of deciding between paradigms. Ptolemy Copernicus

  5. Lakatos Lakatos attempted to combine Kuhn and Popper: • A research programmeis based on a hard core of theoretical assumptions that are not directly tested • What are actually tested are auxiliary hypotheses: they can fail without destroying the entire research program • A progressive research programme changes to its auxiliary hypotheses to increase explanatory power • A degenerative research programmechanges them simply to fend off contradictory evidence.

  6. Merton Robert Merton was a sociologist interested in the “norms” of the scientific community • Communalism: results are the common property of the entire scientific community. • Universalismall scientists can contribute to science regardless of race, nationality, culture, or gender. • Disinterestedness: you cannot root for your hypothesis. • Organized Skepticism: claims must be exposed to critical scrutiny before being accepted.

  7. “Biased Science” Theory Rachael Carlson: “Silent Spring” Steven J. Gould, “Mismeasure of Man” Social influence causes error. The “arrow of truth” is blown off target.

  8. The Strong Program In Social Studies of Science • Science is always taking place in a social, cultural environment • Sometimes (as in the biased science framework) those influences move us away from the truth • But sometimes they can help our scientific imagination and lead us closer to the truth

  9. Strong Program example: Click here for ppt on STS perspective on Darwin and theory of evolution

  10. Multiple Objectivity 1752: Euler proposes relation of Vertices, Edges, and Faces:  V - E + F = 2. Polyhedra: "a solid whose faces are polygons."  1815: Hessel notes that a cube with a cubic hollow inside does not satisfy Euler's theorem. Polyhedra redefined as "a surface made up of polygonal faces." 1865: Mobius notes that two pyramids joined at the vertex also defies Euler's theorem. Polyhedra are redefined as "a system of polygons such that two polygons meet at every edge and where it is possible to get from one face to the other without passing through a vertex." 

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