scholarly journals Creativity in the social epistemology of science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike D. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Epistemology Of Science ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Scientific conclusions need not be accurate, justified, or believed by their authors

Synthese ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixin Dang ◽  
Liam Kofi Bright
Keyword(s):  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Collective Inquiry ◽  
Epistemology Of Science ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Successful Science ◽  
Made In

AbstractWe argue that the main results of scientific papers may appropriately be published even if they are false, unjustified, and not believed to be true or justified by their author. To defend this claim we draw upon the literature studying the norms of assertion, and consider how they would apply if one attempted to hold claims made in scientific papers to their strictures, as assertions and discovery claims in scientific papers seem naturally analogous. We first use a case study of William H. Bragg’s early twentieth century work in physics to demonstrate that successful science has in fact violated these norms. We then argue that features of the social epistemic arrangement of science which are necessary for its long run success require that we do not hold claims of scientific results to their standards. We end by making a suggestion about the norms that it would be appropriate to hold scientific claims to, along with an explanation of why the social epistemology of science—considered as an instance of collective inquiry—would require such apparently lax norms for claims to be put forward.

scholarly journals Cooperative Division of Cognitive Labour: The Social Epistemology of Photosynthesis Research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kärin Nickelsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Photosynthesis Research ◽  
Intellectual Diversity ◽  
Epistemology Of Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Photosynthesis ◽  
Collective Goals

AbstractHow do scientists generate knowledge in groups, and how have they done so in the past? How do epistemically motivated social interactions influence or even drive this process? These questions speak to core interests of both history and philosophy of science. Idealised models and formal arguments have been suggested to illuminate the social epistemology of science, but their conclusions are not directly applicable to scientific practice. This paper uses one of these models as a lens and historiographical tool in the examination of actual scientific collectives. It centres on the analysis of two episodes from the history of photosynthesis research of the late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth centuries, which display a wide and coordinated intellectual diversity similar to Kitcher’s “division of cognitive labour” (1990). The concept, I argue, captures important aspects of the photosynthesis research communities, but the underlying process unfolded in ways that differ from the model’s assumption in interesting ways. The paper unravels how the self-organised interplay of cooperation and competition, and the dynamics of individual and collective goals within scientific communities were influential factors in the generation of knowledge. From there, some thoughts are developed on how historical and philosophical approaches in the analysis of science can productively interact.

scholarly journals Introduction: Computer Simulations in Social Epistemology

Episteme ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Douven
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Computer Simulations ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Friendship Networks ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Social ◽  
Methodological Status

Over recent decades, computer simulations have become a common tool among practitioners of the social sciences. They have been utilized to study such diverse phenomena as the integration and segregation of different racial groups, the emergence and evolution of friendship networks, the spread of gossip, fluctuations of housing prices in an area, the transmission of social norms, and many more. Philosophers of science and others interested in the methodological status of these studies have identified a number of distinctive virtues of the use of computer simulations. For instance, it has been generally appreciated that as simulations require the formulation of an explicit algorithm, they foster precision and clarity about whatever conceptual issues are involved in the study. The value of computer simulations as a heuristic tool for developing hypotheses, models, and theories has also been recognized, as has been the fact that they can serve as a substitute for real experiments. This is especially useful in the social domain, given that human beings cannot be freely manipulated at the discretion of the experimenter (for both points, see Hartmann 1996). However, the main virtue of computer simulations is generally believed to be that they are able to deal with the complexities that arise when many elements interact in a highly dynamic system and which often evade an exact formal analysis (see, e.g., Humphreys 1991).

Conclusion: The Theme Revisited

2019 ◽  
pp. 327-338
Author(s):  
Jan Sprenger ◽  
Stephan Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Statistical Inference ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Empirical Methods ◽  
Epistemology Of Science ◽  
Scientific Philosophy ◽  
Look Back

In this final chapter, we look back on the results of the book and the methods we used. In particular, we enter a discussion whether Bayesian philosophy of science can and should be labeled a proper scientific philosophy due to its combination of formal, conceptual, and empirical methods. Finally, we explore the limitations of the book and we sketch projects for future research (e.g., integrating our results with social epistemology of science and the philosophy of statistical inference).

Global Digital Divide, Global Justice, Cultures, and Epistemology

2011 ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Soraj Hongladarom
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Social Good ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Digital Divide

The problem of global digital divide, namely disparity in Internet access and use among the various regions of the world, is a growing concern. Even though, according to some reports, the gap is getting narrower, this does not mean that the problem is disappearing, because the problem does not just consist in getting more people to become “wired,” so to speak. This chapter investigates the various relationships among the global digital divide, global justice, cultures and epistemology. Very briefly stated, not getting access to the Internet constitutes an injustice because the access is a social good that can lead to various other goods. Furthermore, as information technology is a second-order technology, one that operates on meaning bearing symbols, access to the technology is very much an issue of social epistemology, an attempt to find out the optimal way to distribute knowledge across the social and cultural domains.

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