New tendencies in a social epistemology: agent-structural approach and «turn to the material»

Philosophical reflection concerning studying of social measurement of science shows two main approaches. The first one is characterized by an ideal of "pure" knowledge free from any "extra episte-mological" influence. The second approach recognizing the subjective bases of knowledge insists on sociocultural conditionality of all types of knowledge including the scientific one. Recognition of the fact that adequate comprehension of any thinking is impossible without identification of its sociocul-tural bases. It makes the main intention of a modern social epistemology. Thus conceptualization of "the social", "the culture" and "the cognitive" remains now one of the most complex and actual problems of this direction of investigation. Social epistemology traditionally comprises "social" factors as various forms of individual interaction and "social" factors as a wide social background (social structures, social institutions). As a result epistemological research concentrates on studying institutional or communicative aspects of the science."New" tendencies firstly show the intention to understand science not as a ready-made product (system of knowledge, social institute or communication form) but as a real process of scientific practice where the concept "social" indicates collective process of difficult coordination and mobilization of efforts, skills and the abilities necessary for receiving a reliable result. Secondly these tendencies are characterized by criticism of traditional oppositions subjective-objective, individual-collective, external-internal, ideal-material. The role of corporality and thingness considered to be equal participants of social interaction in modern investigations is suggested to be a special case. The problem of the research is to find a new interpretation of "the social" in agent-structure approach and "turn to the material" and to show that new interpretation is of great consequence for the development of the social epistemology. The first approach is connected with a problem of a search for the cause of such explanation of social reality: whether it is necessary to look for the similar basis in consciousness and will of subject or it is necessary to make a start from the structural relations. In this case actions of the subject can be ignored (put outside the brackets). The contemporary social theory turns to the agent-structure integration as the opposition between 'agent" and 'structure" has always been Achilles heel of the social science. "Turn to the material" represents same special debatable space of scientific research and technology in which the problem of materiality of the social world is raised. The author draws to the conclusion that the treatments offered by a modern social science "social" within the agent-structural approach and its turn to the material are heuristically valuable to the philosophical analysis of modern science. The agent-structural approach allows to carry out scientific analysis as practice in which communicative and institutional aspects form interconnected unity. Interest to material measurements characteristic of modern scientific research and technology provides conceptual and methodological resources for studying a current state of science which even more often is described by means of a neologism "Technoscience" understood not only as synthesis of applies and fundamental (natural-science and technical) researches but as unity of cognitive and material, intellectual and technical factors.

Keywords

Authors

References