Ideology & Science

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Science as a Belief System

Science as an Open Belief System

  • Popper: Science is based on the principle of falsification (seeking evidence to disprove a theory)
  • Communism: Knowledge must be shared with the scientific community
  • Universalism: Scientific knowledge is judged by universal, objective criteria
  • Disinterestedness: Seeking knowledge for its own sake
  • Organised Scepticism: Every theory is open to criticism & testing

Science as a Closed Belief System

  • Science is based on paradigms - set of shared assumptions
  • Scientists who challenge the paradigm are likely to be ridiculed

The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge

  • Functionalists: scientific knowledge is socially constructed
  • Lab experiments are highly constructed & far removed from the natural world they are supposedly studying
  • A scientific fact is simply a shared, socially constructed belief
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Ideology

The Ideology of Nationalism

  • Marxists: Nationalism is a false consciousness that helps to prevent the overthrow of capitalism by dividing the international w/c
  • Functionalists: Nationalism is a civil religion that integrates everyone into a single community, regardless of differences such as religion or class
  • Modernists: Enables industrialisation & modernisation by binding every member of society to a single standard, national culture & identity. This enables communication & cooperation between strangers.
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