We rely on science and other organized forms of inquiry to answer cardinal questions on issues varying from global warming and public health to the political economy. In my thesis, which is in the intersection of philosophy of science, social epistemology, and science and technology studies, I develop a social theory of knowledge that can help us tell when our beliefs and theories on such matters amount to knowledge, as opposed to mere opinion, speculation, or educated guess. The first two chapters discuss relevant shortcomings of mainstream analytic epistemology and the sociology of knowledge, respectively. Mainstream epistemology regards individuals, rather than communities, as the ‎bearers of knowledge or justified belief. In Chapter 1, I argue that typically, only an epistemic community can collectively possess sufficient justification required for knowledge. In Chapter 2, I present a case study in computer science that militates against the sociological understating of knowledge as mere interest-based agreement. I argue that social interests alone cannot explain the unfolding of the events in this case. Rather, we must assume that knowledge is irreducible to social dynamics and interests. In Chapter 3, I begin my positive analysis of the social conditions for knowledge. I explore the question of when a consensus is knowledge based. I argue that a consensus is knowledge based when knowledge is the best explanation of the consensus. I identify three conditions – social diversity, apparent consilience of evidence, and meta agreement, for knowledge being the best explanation of a consensus. In Chapter 4, I illustrate my argument by analyzing the recent controversy about the safety of the drug Bendectin. I argue that the consensus in this case was not knowledge based, and hence the deference to consensus to resolve this dispute was unjustified. In chapter 5, I develop a new theory of the logical relations between evidence and social values. I identify three roles social values play in evidential reasoning and justification: They influence the trust we extend to testimony, the threshold values we require for accepting evidence, and the process of combining different sorts of evidence.

This thesis is about the contemporary challenges facing herbal medicine. Specifically it concerns the difficulties faced by Australian herbalists in their attempts to maintain authority over the knowledge base of their craft and a connection with traditional understandings of the uses of plant medicines, while at the same time engaging with biomedicine and the broader Australian healthcare system. It contributes to the study of the nascent field of qualitative studies in contemporary western herbal medicine by making three main arguments.Firstly, Australian herbal medicine is characterised by its origins as a European colonial practice and its history of professional marginalisation during most of the 20th century. Secondly herbal practitioners have been unable to capitalise significantly on a surge of public popularity in the closing years of the 20th century which brought with it the interest of industry, the scrutiny of regulators and the renewed attention of biomedicine. Herbalists continue to struggle for recognition in the face of these more powerful interests. Thirdly it is argued that herbalists are attempting to gain legitimacy and acceptance as a healthcare profession through a process of underpinning their knowledge base with science, which is replacing their traditional philosophical basis. This has the effect of weakening the ability of herbalists to maintain their identity as an independent profession and makes its knowledge base vulnerable to appropriation by other healthcare professions.Gross’ model of the cultural location of traditions in contemporary societies is used to clarify the situation of herbalists and to identify problems consequent to the political choices they have made or which have been forced upon them. Gross suggests that traditions which place themselves close to power have difficulty in maintaining their own character and integrity, but that other cultural locations are also problematic and limit full participation in society. vi It is argued that there are compelling reasons to move beyond Gross’ analysis and to find ways to strengthen the independence of the herbal profession. Given the financial problems facing the current healthcare system in Australia and the looming ecological challenges, radical changes to the current system are required. The central concepts of herbal practice, in particular vitalism and holism, lead to approaches to healthcare which are potentially both costeffective and ecologically sustainable. A robust and independent profession of western herbalists, with their philosophy articulated and restored, could provide a valuable and sustainable contribution to Australian healthcare.

This thesis is about the contemporary challenges facing herbal medicine. Specifically it concerns the difficulties faced by Australian herbalists in their attempts to maintain authority over the knowledge base of their craft and a connection with traditional understandings of the uses of plant medicines, while at the same time engaging with biomedicine and the broader Australian healthcare system. It contributes to the study of the nascent field of qualitative studies in contemporary western herbal medicine by making three main arguments.Firstly, Australian herbal medicine is characterised by its origins as a European colonial practice and its history of professional marginalisation during most of the 20th century. Secondly herbal practitioners have been unable to capitalise significantly on a surge of public popularity in the closing years of the 20th century which brought with it the interest of industry, the scrutiny of regulators and the renewed attention of biomedicine. Herbalists continue to struggle for recognition in the face of these more powerful interests. Thirdly it is argued that herbalists are attempting to gain legitimacy and acceptance as a healthcare profession through a process of underpinning their knowledge base with science, which is replacing their traditional philosophical basis. This has the effect of weakening the ability of herbalists to maintain their identity as an independent profession and makes its knowledge base vulnerable to appropriation by other healthcare professions.Gross’ model of the cultural location of traditions in contemporary societies is used to clarify the situation of herbalists and to identify problems consequent to the political choices they have made or which have been forced upon them. Gross suggests that traditions which place themselves close to power have difficulty in maintaining their own character and integrity, but that other cultural locations are also problematic and limit full participation in society. vi It is argued that there are compelling reasons to move beyond Gross’ analysis and to find ways to strengthen the independence of the herbal profession. Given the financial problems facing the current healthcare system in Australia and the looming ecological challenges, radical changes to the current system are required. The central concepts of herbal practice, in particular vitalism and holism, lead to approaches to healthcare which are potentially both costeffective and ecologically sustainable. A robust and independent profession of western herbalists, with their philosophy articulated and restored, could provide a valuable and sustainable contribution to Australian healthcare.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 6, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-90).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 226-235). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-03-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:50:31Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 belli_rb_me_mar.pdf: 570629 bytes, checksum: 87f550976f30a1b355a3791ab579687d (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Uma das opiniões mais respeitadas no debate sobre a crise paradigmática é a de Boaventura de Sousa Santos. O sociólogo português afirma que a crise paradigmática teria sua origem no modelo de racionalidade da modernidade e que seria profunda e irreversível, não se limitando a ciência e estendendo-se por todo o conjunto de instituições da modernidade. O objetivo central desta pesquisa é avaliar a concepção de Santos sobre a crise paradigmática sociológica enquanto ideologia, isto é, enquanto ação orientada para a resolução de conflitos sociais. Isto exige uma análise que, além do aspecto gnosiológico, trate de maneira articulada os parâmetros socioeconômicos e dos principais movimentos políticos e científicos envolvidos no momento histórico de sua produção e reprodução, apurando, assim, o seu grau de compreensão da realidade. Neste sentido, caracterizando preliminarmente a teoria de Santos, é possível avaliar alguns pontos importantes. O primeiro deles é o destacado idealismo contido em suas formulações, entendendo por isso a importância que o autor atribui a certas formulações sobre o real em detrimento da própria realidade que ele pretende demonstrar. Santos propunha, desde o início, uma avaliação crítica da realidade, especialmente sobre os desdobramentos da ciência no período entre as décadas de 1960 e 1970, tentando constituir uma linha de estudos que tratasse desse campo específico sem deixar de considerar os aspectos e fatores exteriores à sua constituição... / One of the most respected opinions on the paradigmatic crisis debate is the one of Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The Portuguese sociologist affirms which the paradigmatic crisis would have your origin in the model of modern rationality and that it would be deep and irreversible, if not limiting the science and extending for the whole group of institutions of the modernity. The central objective of this research is evaluate the conception of Santos on the paradigmatic crisis while ideology, that is, while action guided for the resolution of social conflicts. This demands analyses which, besides the gnosiologic aspect, treat in an articulate way the socioeconomic parameters and the main political and scientific movements involved in the historical moment of your production and reproduction, thickening, like this, your degree of understanding of the reality. In this sense, characterizing preliminarily Santos theory, it is possible to evaluate some important points. The first of them is the outstanding idealism contained in their formulations, understanding for that the importance which the author attributes to certain formulations on the real to the detriment of the own reality that he intends to demonstrate. Santos proposed, since the beginning, a critical evaluation of the reality, especially on the unfolding of the science in the period among the decades of 1960 and 1970, trying to constitute a line of studies to treat of that specific field without leaving of considering the aspects and external factors in your intern constitution... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-06-01Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:47:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ferreira_lm_me_mar.pdf: 542129 bytes, checksum: bfe0a2f7b1f116da253a9dd672306727 (MD5) / Esta dissertação possui dois objetivos fundamentais, quais sejam, analisar as condições subjetivas do progresso científico em Sociologia, por meio do conceito de obstáculo epistemológico e aplicar esse conceito a certos postulados da Sociologia de Émile Durkheim tendo como pano de fundo sua obra Da divisão do Trabalho Social (1999). Nossa ideia central é que Sociologia deve superar certos obstáculos. Tais quais, sua concepção de homem, considerado apenas em seu âmbito moral e as explicações do social pelo social. Os quais frente à atualidade de questões como as problemáticas sócio-ambientais tem se apresentado insuficientes para a formação de um novo espírito científico em Sociologia. Na medida em que desconsideram a relação do homem com a natureza / This dissertation has two main objectives namely to analyze the subjective conditions of scientific progress in Sociology, through the concept of epistemological obstacle and apply this concept to certain postulates of the sociology of Emile Durkheim as background with his work The Division of Labor social (1999). Our central idea is that sociology must overcome certain obstacles. As such, his conception of man, considered solely in its scope moral and social explanations of the social. The front of the current which issues such as social and environmental issues has appeared insufficient for the formation of a new scientific spirit in Sociology. To the extent that disregard the relationship between man and nature

My dissertation provides an epistemic evaluation of settler colonialism in terms of settlers’ disavowal of past and ongoing settler colonial violence. I seek to explain how settlers can fail to hear Indigenous testimonies in ways that disrupt structural inequality and challenge settler colonial legitimacy. This theoretical consideration of settler ignorance reveals how the elimination of Indigenous peoples requires the delegitimatization of Indigenous peoples as knowers. This insight is crucial in evaluating contemporary governmental apologies and truth commissions aimed at reconciliation. In particular, I focus on the epistemic assumptions that do not challenge what I call ‘settler ignorance’ and so do not transform settler nation-myths that disavow past and present settler colonialism. My epistemic evaluation of settler colonialism demonstrates how the exclusion of Indigenous peoples from the realm of reason, what I call their ‘epistemic elimination,’ is not accidental, but integral to the settler colonial project of eliminating Indigenous presence. Using this characterization of settler ignorance, I evaluate the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in terms of its ability to accomplish its mandate of “establishing and maintaining respectful relationships” between Indigenous peoples and settler Canadians. I conclude that the TRC fails on its own terms because it does not challenge epistemic assumptions that prevent testimonies of residential school survivors to be heard as expressions of Indigenous refusal of settler authority. Without challenging these epistemic assumptions, testimonies cannot disrupt structural settler ignorance and so, cannot lead to meaningful reconciliation. Meaningful reconciliation requires of settlers a reparative transformation of epistemic assumptions that work to maintain a structural ignorance of past and ongoing settler colonial violence. The goal of what I call ‘reparative knowing’ is both a personal one and a critical intervention into how settlers can become epistemically responsible agents. In the context of ongoing settler colonial violence, reparative knowing involves a troubling of settler common sense, and so, a disruption of structural settler ignorance. Without such an understanding of settler ignorance and reparative knowing, an investigation into the aims and transformations of settler colonialism would remain incomplete.

Orientador: Fátima Aparecida Cabral / Banca: Pedro Jorge de Freitas / Banca: Terezinha Ferrari / Resumo: Uma das opiniões mais respeitadas no debate sobre a crise paradigmática é a de Boaventura de Sousa Santos. O sociólogo português afirma que a crise paradigmática teria sua origem no modelo de racionalidade da modernidade e que seria profunda e irreversível, não se limitando a ciência e estendendo-se por todo o conjunto de instituições da modernidade. O objetivo central desta pesquisa é avaliar a concepção de Santos sobre a crise paradigmática sociológica enquanto ideologia, isto é, enquanto ação orientada para a resolução de conflitos sociais. Isto exige uma análise que, além do aspecto gnosiológico, trate de maneira articulada os parâmetros socioeconômicos e dos principais movimentos políticos e científicos envolvidos no momento histórico de sua produção e reprodução, apurando, assim, o seu grau de compreensão da realidade. Neste sentido, caracterizando preliminarmente a teoria de Santos, é possível avaliar alguns pontos importantes. O primeiro deles é o destacado idealismo contido em suas formulações, entendendo por isso a importância que o autor atribui a certas formulações sobre o real em detrimento da própria realidade que ele pretende demonstrar. Santos propunha, desde o início, uma avaliação crítica da realidade, especialmente sobre os desdobramentos da ciência no período entre as décadas de 1960 e 1970, tentando constituir uma linha de estudos que tratasse desse campo específico sem deixar de considerar os aspectos e fatores exteriores à sua constituição... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: One of the most respected opinions on the paradigmatic crisis debate is the one of Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The Portuguese sociologist affirms which the paradigmatic crisis would have your origin in the model of modern rationality and that it would be deep and irreversible, if not limiting the science and extending for the whole group of institutions of the modernity. The central objective of this research is evaluate the conception of Santos on the paradigmatic crisis while ideology, that is, while action guided for the resolution of social conflicts. This demands analyses which, besides the gnosiologic aspect, treat in an articulate way the socioeconomic parameters and the main political and scientific movements involved in the historical moment of your production and reproduction, thickening, like this, your degree of understanding of the reality. In this sense, characterizing preliminarily Santos theory, it is possible to evaluate some important points. The first of them is the outstanding idealism contained in their formulations, understanding for that the importance which the author attributes to certain formulations on the real to the detriment of the own reality that he intends to demonstrate. Santos proposed, since the beginning, a critical evaluation of the reality, especially on the unfolding of the science in the period among the decades of 1960 and 1970, trying to constitute a line of studies to treat of that specific field without leaving of considering the aspects and external factors in your intern constitution... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

This thesis examines the extent to which optimism has a bearing on objectivity in scientific inquiry. It is not, however, a psychological level examination into objectivity. Rather, the discussion focuses on collective attitudes, whether in the form of science or a more general public opinion. In essence, sources of optimism at the fundamental level of scientific inquiry are articulated with a careful attempt to differentiate between attitudes about the subject (methodology) and the object of study. The antithetical thread of optimism versus pessimism is teased out with the use of a joint case study of liberalism and Stalinism. The idea of antithesis, however, is contrasted by the fact that, although mirror image ideologies, these collective attitudes share a common faith in progress (albeit through different social mechanisms). This faith in progress provides the basis for the crux of the thesis as it moves to discuss scientific methodology. There is general agreement on what good science should look like and the possibility of progressive science can be articulated. However, it is also possible to highlight the conditions for degenerative science and to further link this to a degenerative social totality in which democracy and social progress are undermined. Economics is used as a case study and it is argued that dogmatic notions on progress have proved to be a major stumbling block to objectivity in the discipline. Furthermore, the implications on the real world are serious.