STS Prelims Reviewer PDF

STS : SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY LECTURE PROFESSOR: MA’AM TABABA 1ST SEMESTER - PRELIMS | A.Y. 2022 – 2023 LECTURE TRANSCRIPT...

STS : SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY LECTURE PROFESSOR: MA’AM TABABA 1ST SEMESTER - PRELIMS | A.Y. 2022 – 2023 LECTURE TRANSCRIPT Disclaimer: When Philosophers teach sociology… PRELIMS OUTLINE This is hard material for me to cover. Science, Technology and Society ○ I am trained as a philosopher, not as a The Sociology of Science ( YT VIdeo - not sure if kasama sociologist. sa coverage ) If this same material were covered by a sociologist 3 Perspectives in Sociology you'd probably see a different side ○ Structural-Functionalist Theory ○ It would probably be much more flattering too. ○ Symbolic Interactionism Honestly, while the sociological perspective is certainly ○ Conflict Theory distinctive, I see them as doing philosophy. Culture of Science ○ Of course, a sociologist would probably say the best explanation of my thinking that is SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY given by sociology I can’t get out from behind my perspective as a philosopher and teach this impartially. ○ I’ll do my best to present their claims fairly but you should take note that I am a philosopher, not a sociologist SOCIOLOGY AS A ‘SCIENCE OF SCIENCE’ Sociology is the study of human social structures and social activity. It uses empirical tools and methods to study religion, SCIENCE VS. TECHNOLOGY VS. SOCIETY mass media, art, class, education, business, law, crime and (of course) science (among other structures.) SCIENCE It is a social science, like economics. Study of something We've already seen some question as to whether or not social sciences are genuine sciences. TECHNOLOGY There's also a reflexivity perspective. Usage of tools They try to study science using science, to be 'a science of science.' SOCIETY It claims to 'get behind' science. A community of people with a common goal There's a presumption of priority: if sociology can explain physics, then sociology is superior. WHAT IS STS? The study of how social, political, and cultural values affect ROBERT MERTON AND THE NORMS OF SCIENCE scientific research and technological innovation, and how these The first thinker to apply sociology to science (& it's historical in turn affect society, politics, and culture development) was Robert Merton. He coined the phrases 'self-fulfilling prophecy,' 'role THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE model,' and 'unintended consequences.' In the 40's he outlined the 'norms' (basic values) that govern Philosophy and history were not the only fields reeling from the scientific communities. effect of Kuhn’s “Structure” Merton identified 4 norms: communalism, universalism, Several sociologist saw Kuhn’s work as the death of disinterestedness, and organized skepticism. philosophy of science Collectively, they were referred to as "CUDOS." They proposed sociology of science as a ‘successor discipline.’ Suffice to say, their pronouncements were not vindicated. COMMUNALISM If anything, after a short burst of excitement, the Scientific ideas are owned by all sociology of science diminished considerably ○ No one can claim property, only recognition and esteem Philosophy of science, on the other hand, goes on strong, UNIVERSALISM Despite this, it is a good idea to explore their ideas. Scientist’s particulars (race, gender, etc.) are irrelevant to their Like Feyerabend said, even wrong ideas can be useful ideas. BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H.. | COURSECODE | BSDSA 1  ○ We’ve already noted this norm is oft violated (e.g. -Einstein being rejected by French scientists due to his PROBLEMS WITH ‘TRUTH’ being German) The Symmetry Principle rules out any appeal to the idea of 'the truth' as an explanation for beliefs. DISINTERESTEDNESS Everyone thinks their beliefs are true (otherwise they Scientists should be rewarded for selfless pursuit of science wouldn't believe them.) ○ Personal gain is eschewed as a motive So being 'true' cannot account for a belief's being accepted as true (that would be circular.) ORGANIZED SKEPTICISM All beliefs are explained by local norms & interests. All ideas are open to be tested Being 'true' or 'fitting the world' don't enter into it 'Truth' is seen as metaphysical, 'otherworldly.' ○ No findings are taken on authority ○ Rigorous, structured scrutiny is applied to every idea. If we're to be 'scientific about science' we need to appeal only to genuine, natural causal factors. MERTON AND ‘REWARD SYSTEMS’ e.g.--'what a community takes to be true.' Merton says the basic currency in science is not money, but recognition. THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF SCIENCE Bragging rights for being the first person to come up with, support and 'prove' an idea. The strong program wants to study scientific communities the Merton points to several major priority disputes in the history of way anthropologists study a culture. science as evidence. All communities have rules, methods, and rituals for determining what to believe, how to settle disputes, Newton vs. Hooke over gravity; Newton vs. Leibniz over calculus; Darwin vs. Wallace over evolution. etc. This reward system generally inspires hard work and creative All communities build into those rules that their beliefs are thinking. superior to those of other communities. Science is no exception, so they should not be treated But it also inspires deviance in the form of fraud, plagiarism, and defamation. as though their claim to superiority is justified. OLD SCHOOL AND NEW SCHOOL WHAT CAUSES BELIEF Merton's take is seen as 'the old school' of sociology of science. Appeals to evidence can't explain why scientists believe what It's oft viewed as quaint and outdated. Merton tried to describe the general structure of science. they believe. But he paid no attention to particular scientific beliefs. Pretty much everyone thinks the evidence supports The 'new school' tried to explain why scientists behave, speak, them. think and believe as they do. Remember the under-determination of theory by evidence. Merton basically accepted the positivists' answer to these questions: because of the evidence/the truth. We can identify the factors that lead a tribal culture to believe what they do. After Kuhn, incommensurability, holism, and the death of positivism, a new approach was needed. e.g.--A drought can be ended by a human sacrifice. The same kind of factors should also explain why physicists THE STRONG PROGRAM IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE believe that mass increases as you approach the speed of light. The beliefs of each community are regulated by social The ‘strong program’ was the most aggressive approach to mechanisms, norms and interests. these questions. The specifics vary, but the principles are the same. In contrast to (what they called) Merton’s ‘weak program’ THE ‘PROBLEM’ OF REFLEXIVITY David Bloor identifies 4 key parts of the strong program: Reflexivity says that the same explanation of scientific belief causality, impartiality, symmetry & reflexivity. must also apply to sociology, too. Causality says to look at the social conditions that lead This means that strong programmers' conclusions to a claim of knowledge (scientific or otherwise). aren't driven by 'facts' or 'evidence,' but simply by their own local interests (like all scientists). Impartiality says to look at both successful and failed knowledge claims. So their own principles have forced them to admit their conclusions reflect their own biases. Symmetry says the same types of explanation should be used for all kinds of knowledge claims. But if you think this is a problem for them, you're wrong. Reflexivity says the rules must apply to sociology itself. The strong program embraces this conclusion. SYMMETRY PRINCIPLE What they're saying isn't 'true,' it's just a reflection of their own interests. According to this principle, scientific beliefs are to be treated like This is called 'the problem of reflexivity,' and is seen as a fatal any other kind of belief. problem by most philosophers. The argument: scientists use the same principles to Even they admit what they're saying isn't true! explain why bridges stand up as why they fall. A ‘ science of science’ should use the same principes to explain (what scientists take to be) ‘good’ and ‘bad’ beliefs LEVIATHAN AND THE AIR PUMP BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 2  It states that our social lives are guided by social In the wake of the strong program, other sociological structure, which are relatively stable patterns of social perspectives on science cropped up. behavior (Macionis, 1997). Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer's "Leviathan and The theory tries to explain how the relationships among the Air Pump" looks at the rise of modern science in the parts of society are created and how these parts are sociological terms. ○ Functional They focus on a debate between Hobbes & Boyle over how having beneficial consequences to the individual scientific disputes should be adjudicated. and the society They claim the answers were driven more by politics ○ Dysfunctional (Hobbes' position) than by evidence (Boyle's position). meaning having negative consequences The Royal Society, Boyle's social group dedicated to science, It focuses on consensus, social order, structure and grew out of the dispute. function in society. Nullius in verba ('on the word of no one') became their The major terms and concepts developed by motto. anthropologists and sociologists in this theory include (or the theory focuses on): SCIENCE AS COMPETING LANGUAGE GAMES ○ Order, There was a huge debate over whether or not a 'vacuum' was ○ Structure possible. ○ function Aristotle had denied it, as did Hobbes. manifest or direct functions But how do you settle that question with evidence? Intended, clear, visible, stated explicitly Especially in the face of holism, theory-laddeness, etc. E.g. education - provide students with Shapin & Schaffer say Boyle couldn't answering the 'old knowledge and skills ; healthcare - provide question' about vacuum's. medical treatment and care So instead, Boyle figured out how to ask a new latent or hidden, indirect functions, question that could be tested with his apparatus. Unintended, not recognized or stated The key to winning the debate was making the new, E.g. education - socialization of students into reconstructed question the central question. culture and social class ; healthcare - creation of He made scientists play a new 'language game' (in job opportunities Wittgenstein's terms.) Equilibrium State of balance and stability MANUFACTURING FACTS E.g. When there is an economic recession, Shapin and Schaffer claim that Boyle's air pump is a clear government policies may adapt to provide example of the "manufacturing of facts." unemployment benefits and stimulate economic They do NOT mean he falsified his data. growth to restore economic stability; Rather, they mean facts are 'socially constructed.' This term can be confusing and mean different things. CONFLICT THEORY In general, we can say that 'facts' aren't just 'out there' to be also called Marxism; discovered. sees society in a framework of class conflicts and They have to be interpreted, by way of focuses on the struggle for scarce resources by theory/paradigm. different groups in a given society. We can't get to 'the raw facts' so we're better off not Opposing groups : bourgeoisie and the proletariat = the talking as if we can. capitalists and the workers "It is ourselves and not reality that is responsible for what we It asks such questions as what pulls society apart. How know." does society change? The theory holds that the most important aspect of social order is the domination of SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM some group by others, that actual or potential conflicts The insight: much of what we think of as 'independent reality' are always present in society actually depends on social perspective. But this doesn't mean it's 'not real', or anything we SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM choose to be 'real' qualifies as real. symbols as the basis of social life. Symbols are things to The world places constraints on what we can say is real. which we attach meanings. But society needs to work with the world to construct analysis of how our behaviors depend on how we define the facts. others and ourselves. We will see more of this idea in our discussion of It concentrates on process, rather than structure, and 'post-modernism' in the next lecture. keeps the individual actor at the center. 3 PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY EVOLUTIONARY THEORY The pioneering work of Charles Darwin (1809–1882) in THE STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST THEORY biological evolution contributed to 19th-century theories sees society as a complex system whose parts work of social change. together to promote solidarity and stability; ○ stresses a continuing progression of successive life-forms. BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 3  For example, human beings came at a later stage of 3. Profit- balance of rewards and costs evolution than reptiles and represent a more complex form 4. Equity – distributive justice (reward = cost) of life. Social theorists seeking an analogy to this biological model originated evolutionary theory , in which society is FIVE PRINCIPLES viewed as moving in a definite direction A. Social exchange can be explained in terms of costs, rewards, and exchanges ALL THESE ASSUMPTIONS CAN BE SUMMARIZED AS: B. People seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs in 1. That change is inevitable and natural. pursuit of the greatest profit 2. That change is gradual and continuous. C. Social interaction involves two parties, each exchanging a 3. That change is sequential and in certain stages. reward needed by the other person 4. That all successive stages of change are higher over D. Social exchange theory can be used to explain the preceding stage, i.e., evolution is progressive. development and management of interpersonal 5. That stages of change are non-reversible. relationships 6. That forces of change are inherent in the object. E. Social exchanges affect the relationships among 7. That the direction of change is from simple to complex, members of groups and organizations from homogeneity to heterogeneity, from undifferentiated to the differentiated in form and function. CULTURE OF SCIENCE 8. That all societies pass through same stages of development. THE BIRTH OF FACT SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY WHAT IS FACT? symbol of the ability of science to give us true facts GEORGE CASPAR-HOMANS (1910-1989) What is true? What is false an American sociologist, was a leading theorist in Science gives the people (society) what is fact developing testable hypotheses and explanations Society expects science to provide the description what the about fundamental social processes in small fact is, accurately groups. ○ This is a premise to the significance of the role of STS for analyses HOMANS EXCHANGE THEORY An idea or concept that everyone (or at least a community) concept based on the notion that a relationship accepts as true between two people is created through a process of Acceptance of fact goes like in a circular way cost-benefit analysis. ○ And those who do not accept the fact is excluded in the In other words, it’s a metric designed to determine community the effort poured in by an individual in a Facts are stable but their acceptance is established over person-to-person relationship. some period of time The measurement of the pluses and minuses of a Facts are practiced and shared by a community relationship may produce data that can determine if ○ Approved by the community someone is putting too much effort into a relationship. ○ Conformity of the community to the fact ○ Is named by the community, accepted by the community, SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY practiced by the community is a sociological and psychological framework that Examine the relationship of fact, the practice of facts and the seeks to explain how individuals evaluate community = thus how the science influence a relationships and interactions in terms of the costs community/society and rewards they perceive. ○ This is how science shapes the society This theory is rooted in the idea that people are Facts originate at the level of social networks and get motivated to maximize their own benefits and expressed through persons minimize their costs in any given situation. Behind this practice, is a criteria set for the acceptability of a It is often used to analyze interpersonal relationships, fact from authorized people including friendships, romantic partnerships, and even ○ Case : Is Pluto a planet or not? business relationships. Who said it is not? Who said it is ? model for interpreting society as a series of interactions What were the debates that lead to the this debate ? between people that are based on estimates of rewards What were the considerations to the changes and and punishments. The next debates and set of changes? interactions are determined by the rewards or 1930, 1990, 1999, 2006 punishments that we expect to receive from others, IAU stand on Pluto which we evaluate using a cost-benefit analysis model (whether consciously or subconsciously). Facts have histories Facts are embedded in practices FOUR COMPONENTS Thus lead us to who practice these facts - People! 1. Rewards – perceived credits resulting from specific social behaviors SOCIETY AND CULTURE 2. Cost – something of value that is taken away or conversely a new punishment is inflicted upon a person SOCIETY / HUMAN SOCIETY ( A PEOPLE ) BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 4  group of people involved with each other through Therefore, when people accept or reject technology, we persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the understand the role of technology in the community, then we same geographical or social territory, typically subject to analyze, contextualize, understand and alter our relationships to the same political authority and dominant cultural science and technology – historically, culturally and socially expectations ways in which cultural group organizes and locates itself, NANCY NAVALTA and includes the cultural explanations for that social order Filipino athlete who gained significant media attention in the 1990s. In 1993, at the age of 17, Nancy won both CULTURE the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Palarong Constituted of people who hold each other mutually Pambansa in Isabela, Philippines, despite having no accountable according to the terms of a moral order official training. Common practices In 1995, Nancy's gender was questioned due to her totality of a group’s ways of living, knowing and believing physical appearance. People noted that she was flat-chested and had a mustache. bounded with territories (location), traditionally ○ She was required to undergo a physical exam ○ Later geographical boundaries of territories did not define to determine her gender, similar to previous cultures which brought the third cultures, lateralizations controversies involving athletes like Mona and super cultures (third cultural system) Sulaiman. ○ Test results revealed that Nancy had a Example : banking system, air transportation system condition called hermaphroditism, meaning Science can be a third culture with its scientific methods, she had both female and male reproductive common language, professional societies, peer review, etc. organs. ○ that is why we say, in UST as a community we would say, Nancy competed in both men's and women's we want to promote a culture of research categories in a sports meet in Pangasinan, winning events in both. ROLE OF SCIENCE Due to the absence of clear-cut rules on how she could Reinforcement, maintenance and reproduction of some compete, Nancy's Olympic aspirations came to an end. prejudices in history (culture) in terms of myths, stories Despite the test results, Nancy maintained that she was and histories documenting these prejudices a woman. The media coverage of her situation was Ex. Craniometry – was a way to rank the differences between harsh, delving into her private life. races and sexes in Europe and in the US Nancy eventually returned to her hometown and ○ This dictated that white males were more superior than pursued a degree in Criminology at the University of females, therefore, white men have larger brains Luzon. There are reports suggesting that she currently Ex. Sigmund Freud’s theory on psychosexual development, works as a coach in La Union and Pangasinan. that girls had penis envy the controversy surrounding her gender identity is a prime example of how societal perceptions of WORLDVIEWS gender and gender roles can intersect with and Ways of seeing and interpreting the world from a cultural influence the world of sports perspective that provide tools to categorize and classify the ○ Gender Expectations: Society often has world specific expectations about how individuals of a particular gender should look and behave. In How you review or comment on something would be influenced Nancy's case, her physical appearance, such by worldview to which you are coming from, which culture as being flat-chested and having a mustache, where you are coming from did not conform to traditional notions of Ex. Movies that you watch – as a disciple of technology femininity, which led to scrutiny and questions , how do you view it? Example: Ice Age; Over the about her gender. Moon; Inception ○ Binary Gender Norms: Many societies have a Ex. Vaccines that are developed – as a scientist, how binary understanding of gender, categorizing would you comment on that? individuals strictly as male or female. Nancy's situation challenged this binary framework Categories are usually in binary / dualities / dichotomy because she was found to have both female Which originate from experiences and male reproductive organs, which didn't fit An exaggeration result in semblance of order labels neatly into the traditional categories. common culture, common experiences, common interpretations of events, ideas, people = WORLDVIEW THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION CONJECTURE Dirt - when something is out of place There has been a transgression in the boundary or Challenges rationalist and realist accounts of science that classification from the label claim logic and evidence are the primary determinants of validity and theory choice in science Thus from the attention that we give to these labels and What does a scientist do in making science? worldview and the dirt, insights spring which the social science works on. This makes us aware of the relationships between scientific knowledge and centers of power BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 5  Relativism was not meant to oppose realism but rather to Brings us to the social processes and contexts in which oppose absolutism. scientists organize and give meaning to their observations - Absolutism - certain aspects of reality or knowledge are absolute and universally true TRENDS IN SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION Table no. 1: Trends in Social Construction SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION TREND DEFINITION It is a multipurpose tool that allows for the possibility of asking different questions and observing Humanistic acknowledges the importance of real differently, one that can be used by different people trend human beings in the making of science with different backgrounds, cultures and Recognizes the human actor is emotional, socio-political positions whose voices and views on experiences conflicts, expresses the nature of science might have been silenced or inconsistencies, and sits as a mediator ignored in the past. between science and the wider This allows for a change in perspective socio-cultural and political economic This allows for science to be seen as a discourse where contexts of scientific practice and we do not only ask what questions but different sort of scientific institutions questions If science is a discourse whose status as privileged inquiry within the social formation is historically rather Relativistic idea that social phenomena, including than naturally constituted, its autonomy is always trend concepts of reality, knowledge, and mediated and therefore relative to its position within the meaning, are relative and constructed by social formation of which it is a part. Its place is society or culture. constantly renegotiated with other power centers, and arise from recognizing, for example, that the degree of its “freedom” is always understood in when we observe science as a historical context. (Aronowitz 1988, 300) unfolding, scientific theories and even scientific facts or truths appear to be FEMINISM/GENDER IN SCIENCES relative to specific historical and cultural Feminism is contributing to science studies by providing clear contexts examples of social constructivism, by demonstrating the use of Ex. The case of Pluto as a planet or not power, domination and language in science, and by creating and applying new methodologies for the study of science. Rhetorical Growing awareness of problems inherent The predominant theoretical framework feminists engage to pathos in the language of both science and study or critique science is social construction and related science studies inquiry into the social context of science (Rose 1994). Ex. Use of language in communicating scientific terms in disaster By studying networks of actors, their practices and the Yolanda case in Visayas - storm surge construction of scientific facts, feminists are demonstrating was not understood, because of it is sexist and racist bias in science and exploring the relationship technicality, a local term should have been between culture, difference, and science used to be understood by the locals in order to respond to the threat of the History of feminism and women’s movement typhoon 1950s, 1960s, 1970s Misconceptions on women who study Examples SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM Contributions in the study of sexist and racist biases in science and gendered cultural contexts It is a tool to scrutinize modern science as it produce and Debates have been on : reproduce the scientific culture whether sex differences are: ○ Contrary to relativism ○ socially or biologically grounded or ○ On equity and equality issues Table no. 2: RELATIVISTS VS. REALISTS RELATIVISM REALISM 1. Social constructivist framework has been used to believes that the situation or believes that there is an reveal the sexist biases in science’s explanation on representations cannot be independent arbitrator called reproductive theory, sexual differences and “sorted out” without an Nature that exists outside of medicine outside arbitrator, but there humans, that facts are distinct ○ Example : Biology is destiny; reproductive are no universal arbitrators from human thought and functions of women not themselves grounded in practice ○ disputes that natural differences is grounded a specific historical and to the natural laws setting the differences intellectual position between men and women thus brought BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 6  inequalities bringing division of power and THEORY privilege to men and women The aim of theory is to grasp significant truths about the 2. Address the issues of power, domination and world (Bloor, 1991) politics to explain and regulate the general principles at work in ○ Who does it, who pays for it, who is asking the our world. questions preferable when understanding is required beyond the ○ The people in power are the ones who confines of a common sense interpretation. determine the type of knowledge created! Theories help to explain the unfamiliar and make it familiar. Western culture relies on the familiar as the “impersonal CASE IN POINT: PRACTICE OF MODERN REPRODUCTIVE idiom” to explain the unknown, while traditional culture MEDICINE uses the “personal idiom” to understand the unfamiliar Use of amniocentesis Modern science has little tolerance for or ability to cope with Western Theories vs. Non- Western Theories cultural differences because it has no way to make it fit with African theories vs. Western Theories the assumption of universalism. Which is inferior? Why is the other superior Feminists have also raised questions about “neutral” science Is traditional theory inferior? policy and the not-so-neutral implication for the “other” ○ Case of AIDS/HIV on men Our intention here is not to declare a general superiority but to explore avenues overlooked, erased, or hidden, in the hopes of FEMINISTS IN SCIENCE not replicating the mistakes found in the earlier literature. have paid attention to the Use of Language and metaphors in Science SOCIOLOGY OF MATHEMATICS Politically correct terminologies – gender neutral words traditionally the arbiter of the limits of the sociology of is this good or bad? knowledge. Cultural constructions of objectivity “Hard case” is not based upon domination is multifaceted with its awareness of difference, power CASE IN POINT: PAIN relations, domination, language, and the need to create new According to John Searle – methodologies. ○ scientific perspective of pain – biological causes of the sensation of pain ○ just features of the brain (and perhaps the rest of the PERCEPTIONS ON INNOVATIONS AND INVENTIONS central nervous system According to Durkheim TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFUSION ○ culturological conjecture on pain: is the process by which a new artifact or process, an ○ the extent to which a person feels pain depends invention, moves into use. in part on the kind of culture s/he is a product of, ○ and in particular the nature and levels of social INNOVATION solidarity in the social groups s/he belongs to An innovation is an invention that has become integrated into society. “Science, technology, logic, mathematics are socially constructed.” Innovations solve problems and meet needs (whether at the level of basic survival or manufactured ones as society grows Though this misinterpreted as “relativism” or and expands) and often have unanticipated consequences “anti-realism” Social construction is the only way we have of manufacturing our cultures, our truths, our falsehoods. INVENTION Sometimes inventions are the result of planned innovation, It is not social construction that realists have to fear, but rather deliberate searches for new products or solutions to absolutism, universalism, imperialism, and colonialism and other problems, and sometimes of serendipity “isms” representing barriers to inquiry. most inventions are the product of simultaneous discoveries and collaborative activities. Case in point: HIV/AIDS Case in point: bicycle and the invention of other modes of transportation Closure Standardization Desirability of the product invented/innovated Consumer THEORY MAKING BANAAG, RAINE JASMINE H. | BS DSA 7