Sociology of Knowledge, Centre For Science Policy, JNU

1. Centre For
Science Policy,
JNU
Dr. Susmita Dasgupta
dasgupta.susmita@gmail.c
om
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2. Sociology of Knowledge
Is a sub-discipline of sociology that deals with the social
structures and social organization that produce
knowledge.
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3. Sociology of knowledge thus
deals with
 Social structures – relationship among various
social groups in the society and the relationship
between individual and society.
 Social organization – institutions, politics, ethics,
theology, media, public sphere that provides
continuity and coherence to everyday life.
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4. Sociology of knowledge has
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Modernist aspects
 Difference between
knowledge societies and
non-knowledge societies.
The main purpose is the
classification of societies.
 Production of knowledge.
Study of mental faculties
and connecting such
faculties to the social
externality.
 Main thinkers Marx
and Weber
Post modernist aspects
 Pragmatic application of
knowledge.
 The limitations of pragmatism
due to interests and other
institutional constraints,
especially language and
media.
 Knowledge as cognitive,
instrumental and expressive.
 Main thinkers Dilthey,
Mannheim, Habermas and
Adorno

5. Max Weber, in his thesis on capitalism
Analyzed the differences
between societies that are
knowledge societies and
those that are not.
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6. Weber said that it was not the
case that non-knowledge
societies did not possess skills
and know-how or were low in
technology but,
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7. The mere possession of
know- how was not knowledge
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8. Knowledge means
 Acute and systemmatic observations
about certain things. Classification.
 Validation of beliefs and notions born out
of past experience with new data.
Popperian falsification.
 Generalization of principles and identify
reproducibility.
 Ability to critically view. Falsification.
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9. Knowledge is thus,
 Secularization – development of specific
principles from which know how in
general may be produced and available
for people at large.
 Rationalization – establish a clear ends-
means relationship.
 Institutionalization – syllabi, universities,
uniform grading systems, text books.
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10. Societies that have
knowledge are
 Basically those with high degree of
individual freedom and a sense of
individual agency.
 Open societies that allow upward social
mobility.
 Democratic and participative.
 Also instrumental and desirous of control
(post modernist)
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