The Constructivist Programme in the Sociology of Science

There are several points on which I happily agree with Gieryn: ' Merton, like Parsons or Popper, has been abused in recent decades of sociological writing. The grandfathers of a field are far too often set up as the scapegoats of an incriminating and outdated disciplinary practice against which every new wave of sociologists feels compelled to fight Don Quixotean battles. I also agree that Merton, in a long and distinguished scholarly life, has said many things to which later (and earlier) work can be related. However, the meaning and relevance of utterances derives from the context of use in which they are embedded - and surely I need not repeat the significant differences in theoretical outlook and methodological approach which others have found to distinguish institutional sociology of science from recent, microscopic studies of scientific practice.2 I am even prepared to grant that epistemological arguments, when they appear in sociologists' discourse, do not always seem to be understood well by their proponents, and the claims which are sometimes associated with such arguments quite regularly set philosophers' of science teeth on edge.3 One epistemological position which is frequently misunderstood - by both sides - is relativism. The criticism routinely advanced against the relativism of some recent studies in the sociology of knowledge does not hold water, and has in fact been challenged by philosophers themselves.4

Context (archaeology · Criticism · Discipline · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Meaning (existential · Political science · Positivism · Relativism · Relevance (law · Science studies · Set (abstract data type · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of knowledge · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Philosophy

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