The social construction of science

This book is a sociological investigation of the natural sciences. More precisely, the book deals with the institutionalization of the scientific research — that is to say, with patterns of meaning and action which constitute science. The basic assumption behind this analysis is that scientific research has a social dimension which extends through the actions and consciousness of scientists. Whilst this book is generally concerned with a number of different aspects of the social nature of science the phrase ‘social construction’ has been chosen to emphasise the way that science is produced by individuals working together within specific cultural contexts. The title also indicates a debt to Berger and Luckmann’s famous book, The Social Construction of Reality. That book provided a considerable stimulus to get on with work in what is still one of the most difficult areas for sociological analysis — the physical sciences. Indeed, the idea that reality is somehow ‘constructed’ remains as an inspirational thought for me.