Causes Of Ratings The Ssk Edinburgh School Of Scientific Knowledge To Explain

Relativism is an importantproblem throughout the history of westernphilosophy. The problem has existed in Sociology of Knowledge since it locateditself on studying the relationship between knowledge and social reality.As the third period of development of Sociology of Knowledge, Sociology ofScientific Knowledge, which first developed in Edinburgh University inEngland in 1970s, carried on the tradition of relativism. And furthermore,it made its ideas of relativism more radical and extreme in its firsttheoretical programme which is called Strong Programme. From the point ofStrong Programme., scientific knowledge which we usually consider itobjective is in fact a kind of collective briefs through consultativeagreement, or a kind of collective image. Strong Programme puts its positionof relativism on four tenets: causality, impartiality, symmetry andreflexivity; and it also holds that all briefs are on a par with one anotherwith respect to the causes of their credibility, that all knowledge includingscientific knowledge is socially constructed with the social effect of kindsof interests, with the character of special social situations. StrongProgramme. received strong opposition and criticism from philosophers,scientists, historians, etc. The different explanation of the relationshipbetween knowledge and briefs has become the heart of the matter between thetwo opposite sides.Sociological Finitism made some adjustment of the radical ideas of StrongProgramme by its absorption to some research achievements of social languageand some critics. But the adjustment did not succeed in a sense of gettingrid of the trouble of relativism. In this essay, four reasons are pointedout and analysed.In this essay, the author points out that the analysis of scientific knowledge made by Edinburgh school is reasonable in a sense of helping usunderstand the complexity of science further. The trouble of relativism inEdinburgh school's theory originated from the deny on the effect of thenature in science. That made the school make an unreasonable explanation onthe relationship between knowledge and common briefs. The way getting outof the trouble of relativism is to deal with the different effect of the natureand the society on making knowledge. Thus the essay offers three ways of howto set the effect of social factors on knowledge at areasonable level: (1)fromthe point of perceivers' perceptual procedures; or (2) from the differenttypes of knowledge; or (3) from the institutionalizing procedures of science.And meanwhile, the essay also points out that to recognize the subjectivefactors in scientific research or the difficulty of value neutrality inscience observation do not necessarily cause a negative conclusion ofobjectivity of scientific knowledge. On the contrary, it means that were-recognize the important character of science as a social institution. Andto recognize these may help us set a real and "human" idea of science. Asan conclusion this essay points out that the way beyond the debate betweenrelativism and objectivity is to form an idea of reflective rationality basedon real scientific practice.