Social constructivism on scientific and technical realities (chapter 6 of the book An introduction to science and technology studies) - Sismondo (2009) - Article

The following assumptions don’t come with a single interpretation. Because of that, there are many different social constructions. They are however based on the following three assumptions:

• Science and technology are social.
• Science and technology are active.
• Science and technology do not provide a direct route from nature to ideas about nature. The products of science and technology are not themselves natural.

What are the main assumptions made by social constructivism?

The following assumptions don’t come with a single interpretation. Because of that, there are many different social constructions. They are however based on the following three assumptions:

• Science and technology are social.
• Science and technology are active.
• Science and technology do not provide a direct route from nature to ideas about nature. The products of science and technology are not themselves natural.

How does Ian Hacking characterize social constructivism?

The features that Ian Hacking identifies are the contingency of facts, nominalism about kinds, and external explanations for stability. He would say, for example, about an established scientific theory, that the theory was not the only one that could have become established. He would also say that the categories used in the theory are human impositions rather than natural kinds, and that the reasons for the success of the theory are not evidential.

Where does the term “social construction” come from?

The term “social construction” was introduced by sociologists Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann in 1966 in their essay about the sociology of knowledge. In that essay it states that the sociology of knowledge is concerned with the analysis of the social construction of reality. They are most interested in social reality, meaning the institutions and structures that come to exist because of people’s actions and attitudes. These features of the social world exist only because a large enough number of people act as if they do. They say that for something to be socially constructed, only three things are necessary:

• Knowledge of X encourages behaviors that increase or reduce other people’s tendency to act as thought X does or does not exist.
• There is reasonably common knowledge about X.
• There is transmission of knowledge of X.

With all these conditions present, X exists and cannot just be wished away.

Why can it be said that nature is not found in the laboratory?

Materials used in scientific laboratories are already partly prepared for that use. The materials are purified, standardized, enhanced. Once they are ready, they are manipulated in the laboratory in order to characterize their properties or to create new phenomena. This knowledge that is derived from laboratories is knowledge about things that are distinctly non-natural. They are phenomena and things constructed by hands-on, fully material work. Technology gives new shapes and forms to old materials and makes objects that are useful and beautiful, whereas sciences are presumed to display the forms of nature exactly as they are. Technology involves material forms of construction, while leaving nature behind.

How do science and technology contribute to the construction of environments?

Scientific facts and technology can have enormous effects on the material and social world, both intended and unintended. Technology creates things that influence our lifestyle, think of cars and computers. Science facts and research influence our knowledge and how we see the world and influences policy. Think about scientific knowledge about genes and gender differences, healthcare and the environment.

Empiricists versus realists

Empiricists consider truth to be superfluous. They say that if two theories predict the same, there can be no empirical evidence to tell the difference between the two. Any theory is only one of an infinite number of empirically equivalent theories, so any one theory is not true.

Scientific realists on the other hand, say that data is not the only evidence one can have for a theory. They say that only a few theories are plausible, and successes of science make no sense without reference to the truth or approximate truth of the best theories.

What is heterogeneous engineering and how does it relate to science?

Heterogeneous engineering refers to that builders of technology have to simultaneously build artifacts and environments in which those artifacts can function. Neither of these activities can be done on their own. Builders of technology need to combine the raw materials, knowledge, skills, capital, and any number of actors who may or may not be immediately compatible. Like engineers, scientists construct networks. These networks are heterogeneous in the sense that they combine isolated parts of the material and social worlds (think of lab equipment, knowledge, money, institutions).

What is heterogeneous construction?

Heterogeneous construction refers to the simultaneous shaping of the material and social world, to make them fit each other. It is a process of co-construction. It can involve all other types of construction and combine the construction of accounts and social reality and phenomena and the broader environment.

What is the difference between nominalists and realists with regards to natural kinds?

Whether natural kinds are part of the non-human world or only part of the human classification is a philosophical question. Nominalists and realists think about this differently:

• Nominalists believe that kinds are human impositions. The only real things are individual objects. They prefer to see natural kinds as entirely mental and linguistic phenomena.
• Realists believe that kinds are real features of the world and external to people. They think that the world has to contain more than just concrete objects.

What is neo-Kantian constructivism?

Starting at nominalism, it is only a small step to the claim that representations directly shape their objects. Meaning that, when a scientists agree on a claim, they literally make the claim true. Because this idea bears similarity to Kant’s idea that humans impose some structures on the world, it is called neo-Kantian constructivism. Two facts give this type of constructivism its plausibility:

• The natures of things are not directly available without representations. There is no independent access to the way the world is. When scientists agree about something, they do so in response to sensed experiences. Because even sensed experiences are themselves responses to things and do not equal a direct access to the nature of things.
• There is a large amount of contingency in our knowledge before it stabilizes. Even though disagreement is rule and not exception, natural and technological objects behave relatively well once scientists come to agreement about them.