Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to address the challenge of the conditions necessary for genuine science to proceed. To do this I will change and critique the Weberian Ideal that genuine science as “knowledge of the sake of knowledge” is dependent upon certain social structures and institutions—namely universities and democracy. In point of fact, I will actually begin the argument that the Weberian Ideal is a pipe-dream in that universities have rarely, if ever, been in the business of promoting genuine science. We will see that just because a university department calls itself “Social Science” or claims to be doing “social science” does not mean that it actually does. In particular we need to recognise that while such departments provide more opportunity in which to do science, genuine science is itself not dependent upon these departments in order to be done. To demonstrate this point I will focus on how Britain’s Research Excellence Framework is evidences of how democracies do not necessarily make genuine science possible. Indeed, if we turn back as far as Galileo, the more accurate condition for genuine science is “spare time”. Drawing on Sartre’s phenomenology I will suggest that genuine science is a form of play.
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Notes
- 1.
This phrase is derived from Husserl (1970b, 18). Nevertheless, based on the way it is used here, “practical” should be understood in the sense of “feasibility”. By contrast, the use of “practical” in “practical interest” and “nonpractical knowledge ” is meant in the sense of “applied”.
- 2.
A similar sort of argument is presented by Wiebe (2012).
- 3.
According to Kershaw (1985, 18–19) “Nazism” has come under the rubric of “fascism”, “totalitarianism” and “sui generis phenomenon” at various points in time.
- 4.
This “positive” formulation of democracy has also occurred in phenomenology. For example, Klaus Held (1993, 299) has spoken of the Greek invention of democracy as ‘the novel and unique world-historical form of community which does justice to this authentic phenomenology of the political’. This use of “authentic”, meant to be derived from Heidegger (2010, 42–43), however contains a positive valuation that Heidegger did not originally ascribe to it. Held goes on to suggest that it is because of Heidegger ’s one-sided focus on the notion of anguish to the exclusion of awe that he was not able to see the benefit of democracy against national socialism. He claims that: ‘Heidegger could not see the uniqueness still distinguishing liberal democracy of “rights of man” rooted in the Greek beginning’ (Held 1993, 300). A claim (much like Merton ’s) that neatly obscures that the current “rights of man” condemns slavery, which the Greeks found perfectly acceptable.
- 5.
In various ways these correspond to Schutz ’s postulates of social science.
- 6.
Moriarty is a professor of physics at Nottingham University, hence the use of “nature”. In this case the word can be substituted for the object of study of whichever branch of science we are speaking of.
- 7.
The notion of standards of verification will be explored in more detail in the next chapter.
- 8.
In his consideration of intersubjectivity in CM, Husserl (1988, 131–136) largely repeats Scheler ’s thought when he speaks of ‘personalities of a higher order’.
- 9.
The above example of Taekwondo also highlights other useful points that do not, however, further the current argument:
-
First, it is worth noting the abstractions involved. The list is taken from my own personal affiliation to Taekwondo and it is worth pointing out that not only am I practitioner at the Tuesday Class but also the Wednesday Class within the Edinburgh University Taekwondo Club. However, this may pose a problem if we remember that provinces of meaning on the same level of meaning-context are contradictory. While this is technically true it is only so in the sense that a person cannot occupy them at the same time. As both classes happen at different times I am able to attend both. But, if another club has a Tuesday class I would not be able to attend both. On this point too, so long as class times do not conflict a single practitioner may therefore also be a member of various clubs, academies, associations, etc. without problem.
-
Second, though not contradictory, provinces on the same level of meaning-context are nevertheless conflictory. By this I mean that the physical strains induced, or injuries incurred, during the Tuesday Class render it harder to attend the Wednesday Class. Thus a practitioner may forgo the Tuesday Class in order to be able to attend the Wednesday Class. On a different level this conflict of provinces can be more “ideological”. For example, alongside the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) there is at the same level of meaning-context the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). Both Federations have differing rules and styles of Taekwondo , ones each regards as proper while treating the other’s as improper. Thus senior members will occasionally exhort members not to associate with the other Federation.
-
Third, following on from this point we can observe in Taekwondo a far more complex relation of provinces of meaning than the above list indicates. In particular we can note that the Edinburgh University Taekwondo Club offers both WTF and ITF classes. Thus the club is the polythetic constituent to two monothetic unities simultaneously.
-
- 10.
This point is made by Berger and Luckmann (1966, 55) who argue that States are made up of the interconnection of various institutions.
- 11.
The two sources are only a year apart.
- 12.
This list is derived from the introductory comments of “Equality and the Social Meaning Structure” (Schutz 1964h, 229–230).
- 13.
Klaus Meier (1981) is somewhat unique in pointing out that institutionalisation is not an essential feature of sport.
- 14.
“Given” is not therefore being used in our sense of “giefan”.
- 15.
It is important to recognise the difference between protection and insulation in this regard. All insulated groups are institution s, but not all institutions are insulated.
- 16.
This distinction between “group-soul” and “group-mind” will be expanded upon in Chap. 7.
- 17.
This point concurs with Klaus Meier ’s (1981) work on the definition of Sport in sociology. He provides an extended argument as to why “institutionalisation” is inadequate as an essential feature of Sport. Based on my comments, the understanding of institution s can be applied to what he classifies as Sports but this is not a necessary connection.
- 18.
Byrne (1999, 257) has criticised those who would claim that all religions are a priori “masking institutions” and instead states ‘the notion that religions are masking institutions is to be proved, if at all possible, on a case-by-case basis’. I would make the much stronger claim that whether religions are institutions at all needs to be demonstrated on a case-by-case basis.
- 19.
Of course the problem is that because such science is done secretly, awareness of it is limited. Much of Galileo ’s work was held in the Vatican Secret Archives and virtually unknown until access was granted in the 1870s (Finocchiaro 1989, 42).
- 20.
It is the very point of Heidegger ’s (2010, 178–184) anxiety that the individual will always act in the interest of continuing their interests but must face that inevitably they will not be able to do this.
- 21.
That only the one book got published and the vast majority of his work was done as articles also testifies to the fact that much of his work was restricted to his spare time.
- 22.
Husserl was working toward a similar point with science and art (see Moran 2004, 180).
- 23.
Recall that Moriarty ’s interpretation of Merton ’s norm of disinterestedness predicated it on curiosity also.
- 24.
It should be recognised that as the sources of creation of spare time are dependent upon the situation, the “ swincan time”/“spare time” distinction we have drawn is a formal division not always clear to the person in everyday living.
- 25.
Just as Social Science does not necessarily have social science as its methodology so should we not be mistaken into thinking that earning money is the only methodology of swincan .
- 26.
Though this is not to claim this is the only way a university might promote the Weberian Ideal .
- 27.
I call this a subjective perception because it is a situation pertaining to “Us”—“We are in trouble”. That an out-group may say of the situation that “They are not in trouble” is irrelevant.
- 28.
While this many seem contradictory in the case of soldiers, it should be understood that “dying for one’s country” was conceived and propagated as a form of “thriving”. Again, we need to avoid egoism, which would emphasise the person’s survival in terms of longevity of life (see Chap. 3), as an inaccurate description of concrete cases.
- 29.
It should be noted that Sartre ’s notion of anguish has a much more practical concern than Heidegger ’s concept of anxiety (Spiegelberg 1982, 507).
- 30.
We can relate this point about anguish to a consideration of institution s also. That is, de-institutionalisation can either be the cause or the result of anguish. De-institutionalisation as a result of anguish is in certain respects similar to the situation brought about by war. For example, the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 was provoked as a response to the dissolution of Catholic monasteries in Yorkshire. In this situation the de-institutionalisation of the Catholic Church in England brought about the moment of anguish.
- 31.
In point of fact, Democracy as a province of meaning , particularly British Democracy, involves the institutionalisation of the moment of anguish . Each election calls for the purpose of government to be called into question by making the populace vote for different political factions each with their own interests in mind. Such a point requires further elucidation beyond the space available here. It should however be recognised that no value judgement is implied by this. Anguish, as Sartre saw it, is a part of the essential structure of consciousness of freedom (2003, 57–58). As Spiegelberg (1982, 507) recognised: ‘Sartre’s anguish has nothing to do with cowardly timidity in the face of real or imaginary dangers’.
- 32.
The qualification is necessary because it can become a moment of fear insofar as “bankers” are made responsible for the crisis and removed from the in-group.
- 33.
Properly speaking, what has been discussed here is “malaise in the face of the past” and we may posit the corresponding “malaise in the face of the future” in which many methodologies presents themselves as equally being-useful-for the prevailing interest.
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Tuckett, J. (2018). The Possibility of Science. In: The Idea of Social Science and Proper Phenomenology. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92120-4_5
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