Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Nature of Technological Knowledge. Are Models of Scientific

Change Relevant? by Rachel Laudan
Review by: Trevor Pinch
Source: 4S Review, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 24-26
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/690332
Accessed: 18-07-2023 11:12 +00:00

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 [241

Rachel Laudan. The Nature of give the debates in this volume

Technological Knowledge. Are Models greater salience. There is one
of Scientific Change Relevant ? other lacuna - there is no
Dordrecht/Boston/Lancaster: Reidel, contribution from the sociologists
1984. of science working within the school
of 'micro studies'. Since our
One of the puzzling features of the understanding of science over the
rapid expansion of science studies last decade has been greatly aided
which has been mirrored in the as a result of that perspective, a
growth of organizations such as 4S, paper from that tradition would have
has been the lack of a sociology of broadened the scope of the book.
technology. While sociology of
science has burgeoned, the study of The highlight of the collection is
technology has become the province Rachel Laudan's introductory essay.
of the historian, economist, and She sets out in a clear and
philosopher. Happily this situation insightful way some of the problems
is starting to change. The present facing the development of a
collection of work by historians, sociology of technology and how
philosophers and sociologists is history, sociology and philosophy of
another step on the way towards the science might contribute. She also
development of a sociology of presents a most useful review of the
technology. The six papers in this relevant literature. As Laudan
volume were first presented at a emphasizes, all the contributors are
workshop on 'Models of Scientific concerned to treat technology in its
and Technological Change' sponsored own right as an autonomous body of
by the Center for Philosophy of knowledge rather than as the
Science at the University of appendage to science suggested by
Pittsburgh and held in April 1981. the label 'applied science'. The
Unfortunately Derek Price's untimely importance of technology as
death meant that he was unable to knowledge is now recognized by many
see his paper published. Price's scholars. The 'black box' of
eclecticism meant that he, at least, technology must be opened if we want
saw the need to place fresh emphasis to understand how, in particular
upon the study of technology. historical circumstances, a variety
of social, economic and technical
Ironically the needs for a sociology processes get brought together to
of technology have been most shape technology. If science can be
convincingly demonstrated by understood in this way, why not
historians such as Edward Constant technology too? Also noticeable
and Thomas Park Hughes who, in their throughout the collection is a
marvellous studies of the welcome shift in the object of
development of the turbojet and the study. Although individual
electrical power industry, have inventors may be important in
found it necessary to draw upon certain cases and in certain epochs,
sociological notions. The lack of the stress has now moved on to
interest by sociologists is looking at how communities or social
reflected in the paucity of groups shape technology.
sociologically illuminating detailed
case studies of the development of The theme of communities is taken up
technology. Regrettably this is by Edward Constant in his essay,
true also of the present volume - 'Communities and Hierarchies:
the case studies are conspicuous by Structure in the Practice of
their absence. A case study or two Science and Technology'. Constant
would surely sharpen the issues and makes a distinction between

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 [25]

Science', needs more careful

communities in science and those to
analysis and definitions if it is to
be found in technology. It is clear be useful. For instance, in some
that successful technological
cases science will not only predict
innovation requires integration of a a failure but will also offer a
number of different communities; in
science, Constant suggests, this
remedy for a successful new
technology to overcome the failure.
seems to be a less pressing problem.
Such cases, according to Laudan,
Constant calls upon scholars of must be distinguished from those
science to examine it for similar
which only embody a prediction of
passages of development where a failure.
variety of communities act together.
Indeed a recent study of the high
Norman Hummon's essay
energy physics community has 'Organizational Aspects of
indicated the key part played by the
Technological Change', provides some
integration of different communities welcome empirical examples, although
of specialists (Andrew Pickering, I was left wanting to know more
Constructing the Quark, Edinburgh
University Press, 1984).
details. Also, he offers a
distinction between the art of
One of the most familiar technology and the science of
community-type terms to be found in
technology and how different
balances are maintained in different
the study of science is of course, organizational forms. The science
Kuhn's 'paradigm'. Garry Gutting's
essay 'Paradigms, Revolutions, and
of technology is defined as rati
problem solving, drawing upon the
Technology' is a salutary reminder formal structured body of scientific
of all the difficulties of such
terminology. If paradigms cannot knowledge. Unfortunately the
unambiguously be identified in problem which philosophers,
science imagine how much harder it sociologists and historians of
is to apply such notions in science have been wrestling with
technology where, by common consent, over the last decade is how such a
definition might work for science,
a far greater number of diverse
groups are involved. Indeed, the never mind technology. If, as ma
would argue, science is more of a
problem of delineating and
identifying groups in technology in tacit, craft based activity than
previously been allowed, then the
order to permit social science
type of distinction Hummon suggests
methodology to be successfully
seems to beg the question.
applied is one of the most pressing
problems facing the new sociology of
technology. Another Kuhnian Much of the book addresses the theme
of the similarities and differences
inspired term which has created all
sorts of difficulties in the between science and technology. The
sociology of science is that of last two contributors, Derek Price
and Peter Weingart, provide
'anomaly'. Edward Const an t ' s
contrasting answers. Price's brief
attempt to adapt this term to
technology by referring to essay, 'Notes Towards a Philosophy
'presumptive anomalies' seems to of the Science/Technology
have produced similar difficulties. Interaction', can be seen as a
powerful statement of the argument
'Presumptive anomalies' arise when
that science and technology are
the science of the day predicts that
rather similar, and that it is only
a particular technological system
will fail. This term, as pointed
our image of science (as presented
out by Laudan in her essay by philosophers ) which is wrong.
Price argues that instrumental
'Cognitive Change in Technology and

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 [26]

technologies played an extremely

important part in shaping
developments in science. Our view
of theory-dominated science is all
askew. According to Price it was
new developments in instruments
which led the way to most upheavals
in science. Weingart, on the other
hand, eschewing most of the new
developments in sociology of science
which lend support to Price's view,
argues that different 'orienting
principles' embedded in (and
institutionalized in) the systems of
knowledge which comprise science and
technology means that scientific
development and technological
development are not strictly
analagous. Now, I doubt that few
scholars would disagree with
Weingart that technology does
present a more diffuse and amorphous
appearance than science; the
underlying question, however, is
whether or not this represents any
fundamental distinction. If one
takes seriously the recent findings
of sociologists of science which
portray science as an amorphous body
of practices, which may be presented
in terms of a variety of
rationalizations, then the most
promising path forward is to assume
that the two bodies of knowledge are
constituted by fundamentally similar
social processes, and to go on to
demonstrate empirically how and
under which circumstances the
differences between science and
technology are constituted.

This slim collection raises more

problems than it solves, but it is a
most welcome and timely volume and
does provide a necessary stepping
stone on the way towards a sociology
of technology. We must still await,
however, the completion of Laudan's
enterprise - empirical studies of
technology informed by work upon
science.

Trevor Pinch
University of York

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