1 Welcome To Rural Sociology 2225 “Science, Technology and Society” Mary Grigsby Associate Professor of Rural Sociology Division of Applied Social Sciences

Topics of Discussion Class Business Discussion Leadership Awards Process-Delay Issues with seating chart and participation evaluation Blog Assignment Underlying Assumptions of Scientific Inquiry Blogging in Blackboard-Guy Wilson 2

3 Assumptions of Science/Social Science Ontology The nature of “reality” External or Internal Epistemology The nature of “knowledge” How do we know what is “true” and what is “false?” Human Nature The nature of human nature The relationship of human beings and their environment Methodologies Traditional natural science model Unique and particular?

4 The Subjective Objective Dimension SubjectivistObjectivist Nominalism (social construction) Ontology (The nature of reality) Realism (Real world) Skeptical positivism Epistemology (The nature of knowledge) Positivism Voluntarism (spirit or idea) Human natureDeterminism (data; sense perception) Ideographic (first hand knowledge of the subject) MethodologyNomothetic (systematic technique; testing hypothesis)

Ontology-the nature of reality Nominalism-the social world external to individual cognition is made up of nothing more than names, concepts and labels (symbols) which are used to structure reality. Realism-the social world external to individual cognition is a real world made up of hard, tangible and relatively immutable structures. These structures exist whether we perceive them or not. 5

6 Epistemology*-the nature of knowledge Mystical- Relies upon the opinions of gifted persons who have divine insight into reality (leaders, prophets, clairvoyants) Authoritarian- Relies upon the opinions of persons in authority or well-respected persons or entities (e.g., deities, supernatural beings, leaders) *Walter Wallace in his book, The Logic of Science in Sociology describes four epistemologies, or ways of knowing about reality. Logico-deductive- Relies upon established procedures for collecting observations that reflect reality, as much as possible, without bias or intervention by the person(s) making the observations. Science- Relies upon observations collected in a manner that is as non-biased as possible. But differs from logico- deduction in that it requires also the testing or development of theory.

7 Positivist Social Science Explain and predict what happens in the social world/concrete phenomena Focus on regularities that can be verified or falsified by an adequate experimental research program. Growth of knowledge is a cumulative process; new insights are added to the existing stock of knowledge and false hypotheses eliminated.

Skeptical Positivist Social Science 8 Search for laws or underlying regularities in the world of social affairs is not useful. The social world is essentially relativistic and can only be understood from the point of view of the individuals who are directly involved in the activities which are to be studied. Knowledge is not objective but subjective. (Positivism itself is a product of the social and educational “location” of those practicing it.)

9 Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Argues that the community of scholars govern the enterprise of science. Science is subject to all the authoritarian and mystical influences of any other human enterprise. Community of science is characterized by a prestige hierarchy. Norm of conservatism because the more esteemed have a vested interest in maintaining current viewpoints about what is good science and in rejecting new ideas.

The nature of human nature 10 Determinism Human beings and their activities completely determined by the situation or ‘environment’ in which they are located. (Social structures are part of this environment) Voluntarism Completely autonomous or free-willed.

11 Ideographic Can only understand the world by obtaining first hand knowledge of the subject under investigation. Emphasis of the subjective accounts which one generates by ‘getting inside’ situations and involving oneself in the everyday flow of life. Qualitative methods privileged Nomothetic Emphasis on the importance of basing research upon systematic protocol and technique. Use natural science model to understand social as well as phenomena in the natural sciences, “scientific rigor.” Quantitative methods privileged