Michael Mulkay – författare

First published in 1985, The Word and the World is a significant, empirically-based contribution to the sociological analysis of scientists’ discourse and scientific culture. It also offers a radical departure from established forms of sociological discourse which has far-reaching implications for all areas of sociological study. The central aim of this book is to widen the range of textual forms used in empirical sociological research, and thereby to increase sociologists’ ability to furnish interesting, valid and practically useful conclusions. The unusual textual forms employed for the purposes of sociological analysis are ‘the play’, ‘the investigative inquiry’, ‘the participant-analyst dialogue’, and ‘the parody’. One of the main substantive topics that provides the material for these explorations in form is the ‘scientific debate’. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, rhetoric, linguistics and science.

First published in 1985, The Word and the World is a significant, empirically-based contribution to the sociological analysis of scientists’ discourse and scientific culture. It also offers a radical departure from established forms of sociological discourse which has far-reaching implications for all areas of sociological study. The central aim of this book is to widen the range of textual forms used in empirical sociological research, and thereby to increase sociologists’ ability to furnish interesting, valid and practically useful conclusions. The unusual textual forms employed for the purposes of sociological analysis are ‘the play’, ‘the investigative inquiry’, ‘the participant-analyst dialogue’, and ‘the parody’. One of the main substantive topics that provides the material for these explorations in form is the ‘scientific debate’. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, rhetoric, linguistics and science.

How far is scientific knowledge a product of social life? In addressing this question, the major contributors to the sociology of knowledge have agreed that the conclusions of science are dependent on social action only in a very special and limited sense. In Science and the Sociology of Knowledge Michael Mulkay''s first aim is to identify the philosophical assumptions which have led to this view of science as special; and to present a systematic critique of the standard philosophical account of science, showing that there are no valid epistemological grounds for excluding scientific knowledge from the scope of sociological analysis.

The rest of the book is devoted to developing a preliminary interpretation of the social creation of scientific knowledge. The processes of knowledge-creation are delineated through a close examination of recent case studies of scientific developments. Dr Mulkay argues that knowledge is produced by means of negotiation, the outcome of which depends on the participants'' use of social as well as technical resources. The analysis also shows how cultural resources are taken over from the broader social milieu and incorporated into the body of certified knowledge; and how, in the political context of society at large, scientists'' technical as well as social claims are conditioned and affected by their social position.

How far is scientific knowledge a product of social life? In addressing this question, the major contributors to the sociology of knowledge have agreed that the conclusions of science are dependent on social action only in a very special and limited sense. In Science and the Sociology of Knowledge Michael Mulkay''s first aim is to identify the philosophical assumptions which have led to this view of science as special; and to present a systematic critique of the standard philosophical account of science, showing that there are no valid epistemological grounds for excluding scientific knowledge from the scope of sociological analysis.

The rest of the book is devoted to developing a preliminary interpretation of the social creation of scientific knowledge. The processes of knowledge-creation are delineated through a close examination of recent case studies of scientific developments. Dr Mulkay argues that knowledge is produced by means of negotiation, the outcome of which depends on the participants'' use of social as well as technical resources. The analysis also shows how cultural resources are taken over from the broader social milieu and incorporated into the body of certified knowledge; and how, in the political context of society at large, scientists'' technical as well as social claims are conditioned and affected by their social position.

M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to ''theoretical strategy''. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of ''strategical dialectic''. This often has unforeseen consequences for the direction of theoretical growth, and the author interprets changes in theoretical perspective largely as products of these strategical innovations.

M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to ''theoretical strategy''. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of ''strategical dialectic''. This often has unforeseen consequences for the direction of theoretical growth, and the author interprets changes in theoretical perspective largely as products of these strategical innovations.