A fresh look at instrumentation - an introduction

Collection article | Sammelwerksbeitrag

The theme of "instrumentation between science, state and industry" does not square well with the venerable discourse which opposes "science" and "technology" in social studies of science. In this discourse, "technology" stands for the contrary of "science"; it represents the practical uses of science in society at large and is understood as separate from the somehow autonomous sphere of "science" (Layton 1971a). This vocabulary, widespread as it may be, is not very useful for our purposes, and, for that matter, for any inquiry into the role of instruments. Technology, in the sense of technical instruments and the knowledge systems that go with them, pervades all societal systems. There are technologies of science, of industry, of state, and so forth, and it would be ill-advised to assume that, in the end, they all flow out of "science." But even if the crude opposition of science and technology has little analytic value, the dual problem remains: how to effectively conceive the dynamic relationship between scientific spheres and other societal spheres, and how to conceive the role that technological matters play in this relationship.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-94-010-9032-2
• Extent: Seite(n): 1-13
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Instrumentation between Science, State and Industry; Sociology of the Sciences (22)

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Geschichte ; Soziologie, Anthropologie ; Wissenschaftssoziologie, Wissenschaftsforschung, Technikforschung, Techniksoziologie ; Sozialgeschichte, historische Sozialforschung ; Wissenschaft ; Forschung ; Wissenschaftsgeschichte ; Technologie ; Technik

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Joerges, Bernward ; Shinn, Terry
• Event: Herstellung
• (who): Joerges, Bernward ; Shinn, Terry
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Springer
• (where): Niederlande, Dordrecht
• (when): 2001

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-54865-2
• Rights: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Bibliothek Köln
• Last update: 21.06.2024, 4:26 PM CEST