what is science? (theory & methods)
- Created by: Pavandeepkk
- Created on: 09-05-17 09:13
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- what is science?
- POPPER
- What makes science unique from knowledge?
- falsification
- for theory to be falsified, must be open to criticism
- scientific community = open to criticism
- flaws in theory can be readily exposed and better theories developed
- explains why scientific knowledge grows rapidly
- falsification
- believes much of sociology is unscientific
- soc. theories cannot be put to the test
- e.g. marxism: predicts there will be revolution, but can't prove it b/c hasn't happened yet
- soc. theories cannot be put to the test
- believes sociology can be scientific
- can produce hypotheses that can in principle be falsified
- What makes science unique from knowledge?
- KUHN
- paradigm
- shared by members of scientific community.
- defines for them what 'normal science' is providing them w/ shared framework of basic assumptions within which to work
- simplified: set of norms/culture which tells scientists how they ought to think and behave
- science cannot exist without shared paradigm
- scientists are conformists who unquestioningly accept key ideas of paradigm as basis for making progress
- only changes during scientific revolution
- paradigm
- REALISM
- KEAT AND URRY:
- similarities between sociology and science
- open
- researcher cannot control and measure all relevant variables so cannot make precise predictions
- e.g. meteorologist cannot normally predict weather with 100% accuracy
- this is b/c process involved = too complex to measure or too large-scale to be done in lab
- researcher cannot control and measure all relevant variables so cannot make precise predictions
- closed
- researcher can control and measure all relevant variables
- therefore can make precise predictions
- typical research method: lab exp
- researcher can control and measure all relevant variables
- open
- similarities between sociology and science
- reject positivists' view that science only concerned with observable phenomena
- also reject interpretivists for assuming sociology cannot be a science
- KEAT AND URRY:
- POPPER
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