Mike Mulkay
Encyclopedia
Michael Joseph Mulkay is a retired British sociologist of science. He worked as a reader and researcher at the University of Cambridge
until 1966, he was then lecturer in sociology at Simon Fraser University
1966 to 1969, at Aberdeen University from 1969 to 1973, and then as Professor of Sociology at the University of York
, from which he retired in 2001. A number of his students have gone on to take distinguished academic posts, including Nigel Gilbert
, Steve Woolgar
, Steve Yearley
, Andrew Webster and Jonathan Potter
.
Between the scientific positivism of Karl Popper
and the revolutionary perspective of the Kuhnian school, Mulkay probably stands on a slightly left ground, follows Robert Merton
who has been known partially as the predecessor of Sociology of Scientific Knowledge
. He supports the methodological right of sociology to investigate the process of the production of scientific knowledge
by means of comparing, illustrating academic influential social circumstance and the informative pattern of individual interaction among scientists who are in debate or cooperation. To analyse the effect on scientific research
from inter-professional communication, Mulkay dedicated the significant book The Word and the World: Explorations in the Form of Sociological Analysis.
In the late 60s and early 70s, Mulkay used Kuhn's and Merton's work, both of which he felt had limitations, to formulate an approach that "opened the way for 'internalist' perspectives in the comtemporary sociology of science...his work in part paralleled, and in part preceded the work of the Edinburgh School." He also sought to create a synthesis between Mannheim
ian sociology of knowledge and Merton's sociology of science. Transforming Kuhn's idea of scientific revolutions, he preferred the concept of rebellion in which "rebels within scientific fields branch out to create new fields," rather than transforming an existing field by a so-called Kuhnian paradigm shift
. Mulkay therefore forms an important link connecting the early sociology of science of the 60s, as represented by Merton, with the rich diversity of contemporary sociology of science, which has its origins in the late 60s and early 70s, both in Mulkay's pioneering work and in that of the Edinburgh School of Barnes, Bloor and Edge, as well as in the Bath School of Collins and Pinch, which partly succeeded and partly paralleled his own work. He therefore remains an important figure who pioneered reflexive studies and epistemological diversity. He is perhaps best known for his work on discursive analysis of science and his more recent publications on issues surrounding human embryology.
In recent years, he has devoted more of his time to basket weaving, entering his intricate work at various exhibitions for local artists in East Yorkshire
.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
until 1966, he was then lecturer in sociology at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
1966 to 1969, at Aberdeen University from 1969 to 1973, and then as Professor of Sociology at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, from which he retired in 2001. A number of his students have gone on to take distinguished academic posts, including Nigel Gilbert
Nigel Gilbert
Nigel Gilbert is a British sociologist and a pioneer in the use of agent-based models in the social sciences. He is the founder and director of the Centre for Research in Social Simulation , author of several books on computational social sciences, social simulation and social research and editor...
, Steve Woolgar
Steve Woolgar
Stephen Woolgar is a British sociologist. He has worked closely with Bruno Latour, with whom he co-authored Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts ....
, Steve Yearley
Steven Yearley
Steve Yearley is a British sociologist, Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge at the University of Edinburgh, a post he has . He is currently seconded from the sociology unit to be Director of the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, more often known as the Genomics Forum...
, Andrew Webster and Jonathan Potter
Jonathan Potter
Jonathan Potter is Professor of Discourse Analysis and, from February 2010, Head of the Department of Social Sciences, at Loughborough University and one of the originators of discursive psychology.-Life:...
.
Between the scientific positivism of Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
and the revolutionary perspective of the Kuhnian school, Mulkay probably stands on a slightly left ground, follows Robert Merton
Robert Merton
Robert Merton may refer to:*Robert K. Merton , American sociologist*Robert C. Merton , American economist, Nobel Laureate, MIT professor, son of Robert K. Merton...
who has been known partially as the predecessor of Sociology of Scientific Knowledge
Sociology of scientific knowledge
The sociology of scientific knowledge ' is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity."...
. He supports the methodological right of sociology to investigate the process of the production of scientific knowledge
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
by means of comparing, illustrating academic influential social circumstance and the informative pattern of individual interaction among scientists who are in debate or cooperation. To analyse the effect on scientific research
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
from inter-professional communication, Mulkay dedicated the significant book The Word and the World: Explorations in the Form of Sociological Analysis.
In the late 60s and early 70s, Mulkay used Kuhn's and Merton's work, both of which he felt had limitations, to formulate an approach that "opened the way for 'internalist' perspectives in the comtemporary sociology of science...his work in part paralleled, and in part preceded the work of the Edinburgh School." He also sought to create a synthesis between Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
ian sociology of knowledge and Merton's sociology of science. Transforming Kuhn's idea of scientific revolutions, he preferred the concept of rebellion in which "rebels within scientific fields branch out to create new fields," rather than transforming an existing field by a so-called Kuhnian paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
A Paradigm shift is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science...
. Mulkay therefore forms an important link connecting the early sociology of science of the 60s, as represented by Merton, with the rich diversity of contemporary sociology of science, which has its origins in the late 60s and early 70s, both in Mulkay's pioneering work and in that of the Edinburgh School of Barnes, Bloor and Edge, as well as in the Bath School of Collins and Pinch, which partly succeeded and partly paralleled his own work. He therefore remains an important figure who pioneered reflexive studies and epistemological diversity. He is perhaps best known for his work on discursive analysis of science and his more recent publications on issues surrounding human embryology.
In recent years, he has devoted more of his time to basket weaving, entering his intricate work at various exhibitions for local artists in East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire could be:*East Yorkshire Motor Services*An alternative name for the East Riding of Yorkshire*East Yorkshire , a former district of Humberside*East Yorkshire...
.
Publications
- Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy, London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1971
- Social Process of Innovation (Studies in Sociology), London: Macmillan, 1972, ISBN 0333134311
- Astronomy Transformed: the Emergence of Radio Astronomy in Britain, with David O. Edge, New York: Wiley, c1976
- Science and the Sociology of Knowledge, London; Boston: G. Allen & Unwin, 1979, ISBN 0043010946
- Science Observed: Perspectives on the Social Study of Science, with Karin Knorr-Cetina, UK: Sage Publications, 1983
- Opening Pandora's Box: a Sociological Analysis of Scientists' Discourse, with G. Nigel Gilbert Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984
- The Word and the World: Explorations in the Form of Sociological Analysis, London; Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1985, ISBN 0043011977
- On Humour: its Nature and its Place in Modern Society, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press; Oxford, UK; New York, NY, US: B. Blackwell, 1988
- Health and Efficiency: A Sociology of Health Economics, with Malcolm Ashmore and T.J. Pinch, Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1989, ISBN 0335099122
- Sociology of Science: A Sociological Pilgrimage, Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1990, ISBN 033509404X
- The Embryo Research Debate: Science and the Politics of Reproduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0 521 57180 4