The Social Constructivism/Scientific Realism Debate: Knorr Cetina and Philip Kitcher

Abstract

One of the most important challenges to scientific realism comes from social studies of science and sociology, mainly from the constructivist current. In this paper, we establish a counterpoint between the constructivist sociologist Karin Knorr Cetina and the realist philosopher Philip Kitcher, with the aim of showing a realist response to the challenges posed by social constructivism, while also incorporating some of its elements.

In his response, Kitcher ventures into what many philosophers of science would regard as sociology, insofar as his is a realism that includes external factors by emphasizing the importance of subjects and of the authority relations established within scientific communities. Moreover, the author explicitly inclines toward a normative philosophy of science, abandoning the position of the received view regarding the value-neutrality of science and of the philosophy of science.

The choice of these authors is mainly due to their importance in the debate and to the fact that Knorr Cetina can be considered a forerunner of what Echeverría has called the “praxiological turn” in the philosophy of science, of which Kitcher considers himself a representative.

Thus, the paper consists of two parts: in the first, we develop Knorr Cetina’s thought; in the second, we present Kitcher’s response, attempting to offer an assessment of it.