Through a Glass Darkly: The Hidden Perspectives that Challenge and Redeem Science's Self-Conception Open Access

Abstract

This dissertation examines the compatibility of the social dynamics of scientific research with the scientific ideal of a self-critical empirical enterprise. In order to avoid either using the social dynamics of science to undermine its goals or to alternately lend credence to views that endorse isolating scientific methods from the social dynamics of their practice, I return to a major origin of these discussions in Thomas Kuhn's work. In the first chapter, I argue that a major insight brought out by Kuhn's work has been overlooked: the limiting role professional hierarchies and shared social assumptions have on the location and nature of criticism in scientific practice.

In the second and third chapters, I explore several possible remedies to this problem as articulated by three prominent feminist philosophers, Lynn Hankinson Nelson, Alison Wylie, and Helen Longino. I derive many positive contributions from these thinkers, but I argue that they ultimately are unable to rescue empiricism from the challenge brought to it by the shared assumptions and power hierarchies of scientific communities.

In the fourth and fifth chapters, I illustrate these social dynamics of scientific communities in the case of early AIDS research. I demonstrate both how scientific criticisms were delayed and ignored due to certain social dynamics, and also how these problems were ultimately remedied through social changes as well.

In the sixth chapter, I argue that in order to maintain the scientific ideal of self-criticism, scientific practice must be guided by social norms, not merely theoretical and methodological norms. Specifically, a social norm is required to (1) recognize that nonscientific communities often acquire expertise relevant to challenge scientific assumptions, (2) acknowledge that social hierarchies often hinder these types of expertise from being recognized, and (3) seek out and develop these types of expertise in order for scientific communities to achieve their own epistemic goals. I conclude by indicating how this social norm is loosely reflected in the practice of Community-based participatory research, but is also useful to provide a more specific and epistemically-argued grounding for this current practice.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 ONE Kuhn Revisited Thomas Kuhn and Paradigms 10 The challenge to science Kuhn and the Science Wars Kuhn's account: Back to the source 16 Active social resistance: Social entrenchment 25 Tacit knowledge and passive resistance: Epistemic blindness 31 Kuhn's incorporation of "external factors" and the hierarchy of sciences Summary TWO Feminist Empiricists Contribute: Part I Why feminist epistemologists? 42 Lynn Hankinson Nelson 46 Alison Wylie 60 Wylie and Feminist Standpoint Theory 72 THREE Feminist Empiricists Contribute: Part II Helen Longino From paradigms to background beliefs 78 Longino's contributions 81 Longino's tensions 92 Ideas to take from Longino 98 FOUR AIDS case study: Part I AIDS etiology research 105 Epistemic blindness and causal hypotheses 110 Lessons to be learned. . .lay involvement or scientific engagement? 130 FIVE AIDS case study: Part II AIDS treatment research 136 Epistemic blindness and AIDS activist contributions 139 Social entrenchment and AIDS treatment research 152 SIX New social norm Introduction 162 Moment 1: Recognize non-scientific experts 164 Moment 2: Recognize the social hindrances to recognizing non-scientist experts 183 Moment 3: Responsibility to facilitate development of potential experts into actual experts and collaborate 187 CONCLUSION 194

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Philosophy
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Philosophy
Keyword	sociology of science social norms philosophy of science expertise feminist epistemology
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Risjord, Mark, Emory University
Committee Members	Wylie, Alison, University of Washington McCauley, Robert, Emory University Willett, Cynthia, Emory University Sullivan, Michael, Emory University

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