Abstract
In this final chapter many of the themes discussed earlier will be re-emphasised. As well as summarising the findings of the study some of its implications for our understanding of scientific culture in general, and in particular the working of scientific instruments, will be explored.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
For further discussion of this problem, see R.E. Grandy (ed.), Theories and Observation in Science, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall (1973).
N.R. Hanson, Patterns of Discovery, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (1958), at p. 56.
See, for instance, Gooding (1982), Collins (1985), Hacking (1983), and Shapin and Schaffer (1985).
See, for instance, Shapin and Schaffer (1985), Gooding (1982), and Rudwick (1985).
For descriptions of off-the-shelf experimentation, see Latour and Woolgar (1979), Knorr-Cetina (1981), and Lynch (1985). For a description of experimental activity at a large accelerator, see P. Galison, ‘How the First Neutral Current Experiments Ended’, Reviews of Modern Physics, 55, 477–509 (1983).
Elsewhere (Pinch 1985) I have attempted to characterise these different levels of data by reference to the ‘external-isation’ of observation.
For example, see, Collins (1975, 1981b, 1985), and Travis (1981).
See Pinch (1980b), and B.W. Filippone and David, N. Schramm, ‘Neutrinos from a Standard Solar Model’, The Astrophysical Journal, 253, 393–98 (1982).
See, Feyerabend’s (1975) study of Galileo’s use of the optical telescope for an example of how a current ‘black boxed’ instrument can be opened up by looking back to when the instrument was first used.
This process is described by Collins (1975) as studying how ships (scientific facts) get put into bottles (validity).
The notion of a network of links between evidential contexts and experiments is related to ‘Hesse nets’ and the network model of knowledge as outlined in Law and Lodge (1984), and Collins (1985). Every link between evidential contexts and experimental techniques is constructed (and deconstructed) by the actions of scientists.
Another approach to scientific instrumentation which has some resonances with the present account is offered by Patrick Heelan. See, in particular, P. Heelan, ‘Natural Science as Hermeneutic of Instrumentation’, Philosophy of Science, 50, 181–204 (1983). This view also has similarities with Bachelard’s description of observation as ‘phenomeno-technique’.
See G. Bachelard, The Philosophy of No, New York, Orion Press (1972). For an extension of Bachelard’s ideas to scientific instrumentation, see Latour and Woolgar (1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pinch, T. (1986). Conclusion — Evidential Contexts and Social Contexts. In: Confronting Nature. Sociology of the Sciences Monographs, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7729-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7729-8_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8424-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7729-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive