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6 - Science as a Social Endeavor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2023

David B. Teplow
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
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Summary

Science always has occupied a special niche in society because of its perceived and proven truth value, which comes from its ostensibly unbiased, rigorous, accurate, precise, dispassionate, and metaphysical nature. After all, isn't science practiced in laboratories and universities quite apart from the "real world," the world of opinion, supposition, business, politics, and religion? But is it? As discussed in this chapter, the answer is "no," because science, in many senses, is a social endeavor, one subject to the vagaries of personal bias, the quest for recognition and funding, peer and social pressure, and tradition. Science may indeed be special relative to other endeavors, but this does not mean that its product – knowledge – should be accepted without question. Science can be wrong, but only temporarily, as it is a self-correcting enterprise that, in light of continual hypothesis testing, eventually fixes its own errors.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Science as a Social Endeavor
  • David B. Teplow, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Philosophy and Practice of Science
  • Online publication: 17 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107360129.009
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  • Science as a Social Endeavor
  • David B. Teplow, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Philosophy and Practice of Science
  • Online publication: 17 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107360129.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Science as a Social Endeavor
  • David B. Teplow, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Philosophy and Practice of Science
  • Online publication: 17 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107360129.009
Available formats
×