20. Science as a Belief System

• the impact of science

  over the last few centuries science has had a profound impact on modern life, from advancements in medicine to, and in particular it has had effects on economic productivity

  - this has led to a widespread faith in science, however this has recently been dimmed by the problems science has caused eg. pollution and nuclear weapons

  - science holds cognitive power - it allows us to explain and control the world which separates it from other belief systems
• open belief systems

  popper - science is an open belief system governed by falsification, so every theory is open to testing by others

  - use evidence

  - scientific knowledge is cumulative and builds on the work of scientists that came before

  - this separates it from other belief systems, which often involve absolute truths that science does not
• the cudos norms

  merton - science can only thrive if it receives support from other institutions, which is why it has only rapidly grown recently

  - this first developed in the protestant reformation through puritanism which suggested the study of nature was an appreciation of god's work while stressing social welfare

  - this new institution receives support due to its practical application to economy and military

  - agrees with popper that science has an ethos that mean science serve its goals, which cudos is an acronym for

  - communism (in terms of community)

  - universalism

  - disinterestedness

  - organised scepticism
• the four cudos norms

  - communism - scientific knowledge isn't private property and it should be shared in order for that knowledge to grow

  - universalism - scientific truth is judged by universal, objective criteria

  - disinterestedness - being committed to discovering knowledge for its own sake, which is helped by publishing findings which enables others to check findings

  - organised scepticism - no claim is regarded as sacred, and every idea is open to criticism and objective investigation
• closed belief systems

  closed belief systems adhere to rigid, established doctrines, often resisting change or alternative viewpoints

  - horton - beliefs like religion and magic are closed systems as they make knowledge-claims that can't be successfully overturned, and often have arguments that prevent something being disproven in the eyes of the believers

  - an example of this is evans-pritchard's study of witchcraft in sudan
• Doctrine

  fundamental beliefs of an ideology e.g. you have to have to be a part of that group
• witchcraft case study

  evans-pritchard - studied the azande people in sudan and suggested it was a closed system

  - they believe that natural events have natural causes but there is no coincidence, so often blame misfortune on witches

  - often perform a ritual involving poisoning chickens to determine if this is the case, in which instance they can publicly ask the witch to stop, which usually ends the problem as the witch could be causing the problem accidentally
• How is the Sudanese witchcraft a closed belief system?

  evans-pritchard - the witchcraft beliefs of the azande people performs useful social functions as it prevents grudges and allows neighbours to be considerate to reduce the risk of being accused, so ensures cooperation

  - this system is also highly resistant to change as all can be explained away by magic, so it is a very closed system
• self-sustaining beliefs

  polanyi - all belief systems have three devices to sustain themselves despite contradictory evidence

  circularity - each idea in the system is explained in terms of another idea within the system, going round and around

  subsidiary explanations - eg. if something fails it can be explained away by an incorrectly performed ritual

  denial of legitimacy to rivals - reject alternative worldviews by refusing to accept that rivals' basic assumptions are legitimate eg. creationists rejecting the knowledge of evolutionists
• What are examples for each self-sustaining belief?

  Circularity- Miracles prove the truth of the religion and the religion is true because it performs miracles

  Subsidiary explanation- Belief in the power of faith/miracle healing even in the face of medical innovations

  Denial of legitimacy to rivals- Mistrust of LGBTQ+ congregations, because they are 'sinners
• science as a closed system

  some people argue that science can sometimes be closed, as for example polanyi suggests all belief systems are self-sustaining

  - kuhn - mature sciences are based on paradigms which dictate scientists' reality and describes which questions and problems they should solve

  - these paradigms may explain the closed nature of science as if something goes against those paradigms it is automatically rejected

  - the only exceptions of this are scientific revolutions where faith in the truth has already been undermined, which is the only time when people may accept new ideas
• How might religion preserve its closed systems from outside?

  - Emotional & psychological needs

  - Spiritual experiences

  - External challenges

  - Sacred texts

  - Socialisation & indoctrination

  - Flexibility
• sociology of scientific knowledge

  interpretivists have developed kuhn's idea of paradigms and suggest all knowledge, including scientific, is socially constructed and created by social groups using resources available

  knorr-cetina - the invention of new scientific instruments allow scientists to make new types of observations and create new facts

  things studied in a lab are far removed from the natural world eg. specially bred animals and distilled water
• little green man

  woolgar - scientists are trying to navigate and make sense of the world the same as everyone else, and have to decide what evidence they gather from observations mean by devising theories that they persuade others to accept

  - eg. when pulsars were discovered in cambridge university they were first labelled as little green men, but because this would be unacceptable to the scientific community

  - the scientific fact is a social construction that scientists are able to persuade their colleagues to share
• conflict theories and science

  critical perspectives believe that scientific knowledge is socially constructed in order to serve the interests of powerful groups - the bourgeoisie and men

  - eg. scientific advancements are often driven by a need for new products to sell eg. constantly evolving apple iphones
• postmodernism and science

  postmodernists believe that scientific knowledge are socially constructed

  - lyotard - science is one of many meta-narratives that falsely claim to process the truth, alongside marxism, psychoanalysis and religion

  - while science claims to hold the truth in order to work towards progress it is in reality a discourse used to dominate people
• Paradigm - a particular and accepted set of thoughts and assumptions about the way things are and the way research should be done
• how does religion act as a closed system?

  • socialisation - from a young age people are indoctrinated into religious beliefs which makes it challenging to adopt alternative perspectives
  • psychological functions - religious beliefs provide comfort that means believers are strongly attached to their faith
  • adaptability - religious beliefs can change over time in response to social change to preserve relevance