Three Sociological Epistemologies

Abstract

Three epistemologies—pragmatism, positivism, and hermeneutics—are sociologically explained as the ideologies of different groups doing various kinds of scientific work. These ideologies are shaped by the material conditions and social structures of scientific work in different areas of the sciences. Pragmatism is the ideology of research fronts that constantly produce change and innovation; positivism is the ideology of normal science with its routinized practices and high task certainty; hermeneutics is the philosophy of choice in loosely coupled textual fields with a high level of decentralization.