Book contents
- Understanding Science
- Reviews
- Understanding Science
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 What’s So Special about Science?
- 2 Observation-Driven Science
- 3 Hypothesis-Driven Science: Falsificationism
- 4 Hypothesis-Driven Science: Limitations and Alternatives
- 5 Paradigm-Driven Science
- 6 Science as a Social Activity
- 7 Synthesis
- 8 Science in Practice: Publishing
- 9 Science in Practice: Data
- 10 Science in Practice: Academia
- 11 Epilogue
- References
- Index
6 - Science as a Social Activity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 February 2026
Book contents
- Understanding Science
- Reviews
- Understanding Science
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 What’s So Special about Science?
- 2 Observation-Driven Science
- 3 Hypothesis-Driven Science: Falsificationism
- 4 Hypothesis-Driven Science: Limitations and Alternatives
- 5 Paradigm-Driven Science
- 6 Science as a Social Activity
- 7 Synthesis
- 8 Science in Practice: Publishing
- 9 Science in Practice: Data
- 10 Science in Practice: Academia
- 11 Epilogue
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter introduces the view of science as an inherently social activity, where scientific knowledge must be public and consensible. A short piece of fiction illustrates this view and how science actually works today, within academia. Building on this story, a summary is made of what we have learnt from previous chapters and what it means for the ‘line of demarcation’ between science and non-science, and then John Ziman’s ideas about science as public knowledge and the crucial role of publications in science are introduced. Ziman’s interpretation of science as the search for a consensus of rational opinion among all competent researchers, and its relation to scientific institutions and to philosophy of science, is scrutinised in some detail.
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- Understanding ScienceThe Web of Trust, pp. 67 - 78Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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