UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Social uses of science

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511572982.004

Authors

Steven Shapin

Reported year

1980

Reported language

en

Source type

book-chapter

First detected

2026-11-09T19:09:44.482888+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:09:44.482888+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Documentary abstract — original language

Introduction Representations of nature in scientific culture have been widely used to comment upon the social order. Such social uses have not, however, greatly interested historians of science. They routinely consider their business to be the study of the generation and evaluation of scientific knowledge. Social uses of scientific knowledge are conceived to occur in another context from the contexts of production and evaluation of science. How science may be socially used can, therefore, be of little material concern either to the scientists who produce the knowledge, or a fortiori to the historians who study the scientists. Thus, the significance accorded to studies of the social uses of science rests upon an historiographical demarcation between contexts of social use and contexts more routinely treated by historians of science. And, as is often the case, the demarcation expresses an evaluation - in this instance a negative assessment of the historical significance of studies of social uses of science. These evaluations and the attendant demarcations are faulty. It will therefore be necessary to state as clearly as possible, even at the risk of some oversimplification, what these largely implicit historiographical assumptions are. These include the notion that individuals in an esoteric sub-culture generate scientific knowledge by contemplating nature and ‘rationally’ assessing their findings. The context wherein science is produced and judged is argued (or, more commonly, assumed) to be separable from other contexts.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W2502141575

DOI

10.1017/cbo9780511572982.004

Documentary context

Documentary family

Book chapter

Source-reported types

book-chapter

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Book bibliographic description

Access status unknown

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511572982.004
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W2502141575

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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