Karin Knorr Cetina Knihy

Distinguished scholars systematically survey recent developments in the study of science as a social phenomenon, highlighting a range of new approaches. These include the Edinburgh School of interest theory and the relativist programme, alongside ethnomethodological studies, discourse analysis, the knowledge perspective, and constructivist/ethnographic studies. Major revisions in the Marxist view of science are also discussed. The volume addresses whether studies should focus on the internal processes of science or its societal impacts, exploring ongoing controversies in the field. The essays emphasize the importance of including the technical context of science within sociological analysis and highlight scientific publications and language as key mediums for knowledge exchange. Technical knowledge emerges as a product of negotiation, revealing that the technical aspects of science are deeply intertwined with social processes. The essays challenge the traditional distinction between technical and social dimensions of knowledge creation. They not only review and debate new developments but also pose bold questions and begin to establish an empirical foundation for addressing them.

This is the first volume to bring together philosophers, sociologists and scientists to explore and examine the role of practices in human activity.

This study is a realist enterprise, an attempt to truly represent the social order of life in laboratories and institutes of research, just as they are. By bringing the philosophical issues to the surface as matters not of prejudgement but as matters of concerns, Karin Knorr-Cetina has developed the first really positive challenge to the philosophy of science since the days of paradigms and internal definitions of meanings. The anthropological approach is the central focus of this study.

How does science create knowledge? Epistemic cultures, shaped by affinity, necessity, and historical coincidence, determine how we know what we know. In this book, Karin Knorr Cetina compares two of the most important and intriguing epistemic cultures of our day, those in high energy physics and molecular biology. The first ethnographic study to systematically compare two different scientific laboratory cultures, this book sharpens our focus on epistemic cultures as the basis of the knowledge society.

Wie entsteht eine wissenschaftliche Tatsache? Wie stellt sich naturwissenschaftliche Kreativität dar, wenn man sie im Labor des Naturwissenschaftlers beobachtet? Wie verhält sich die handwerkliche Arbeit der Forscherin zu dem, was im veröffentlichten wissenschaftlichen Text steht? Karin Knorr Cetina geht durch das Labor mit den Augen einer Anthropologin, die die Sitten und Gebräuche einer fremden Ethnie mit der Distanz, aber auch der Sympathie des Mitglieds einer anderen Kultur studiert. Dabei zeigt sich, dass man das Unternehmen Wissenschaft mit idealisierten epistemologischen Begriffen nicht besonders gut zu fassen bekommt. Es muss vielmehr aus der Alltagswelt wissenschaftlicher Handarbeit rekonstruiert werden. Ein Klassiker der Wissenschaftssoziologie.