In what sense is scientific knowledge social?

1. Scientists share information and skills, values, equipment, methodologies, priorities, personal commitments, expectations, cultural assumptions, class, race/ ethnic, or gender backgrounds, etc.
2. The phenomena studied by scientists can be viewed and studied by others.
3. Scientific ideas are intersubjectively tested through a process of criticism.
   • An idea offered by an individual will not be considered a legitimate "fact" or theory unless other people do something with that idea: test it, approve of it, criticize it, etc.
   • Canons of scientific legitimacy require independent testability. Other people have to be able to run the same experiment and get the same results.
   • The community evaluates whether the conclusions of experiments are adequately supported by the evidence and whether arguments offered are valid.
   • Criticism changes the original idea: corrects it, extends it, reapplies it. Intersubjective criticism lessens the individual subjective bias present in the original idea.
   • Scientific practice/ criticism is both competitive and collaborative.
4. The development of scientific ideas requires the participation of many people. Breakthroughs build on previous people's work. Many scientific papers are written by groups of people. Laboratories are usually collectives of people.
5. The scientific community serves as a gatekeeper. (This has both positive and negative consequences.)
   • Standards are defined by the community and upheld rather rigidly.
     • Peer review for funding and publishing
     • Reception of ideas after they're published
     • What counts as success in education, training (grades, etc.)
     • Hiring, tenure, and promotion
6. Scientific ideas are produced and supported by public resources.
• Schools, industry, government
• Taxes
7. The products of scientific knowledge are publicly accessible (in varying degrees). to other scientists to technologists to laypeople
8. The public's confidence in the judgement of a scientist is enhanced by finding other reputable scientists who agree, as in "getting a second opinion." We want to find out what the current state of scientific knowledge is, what the relevant experts in the field would say. We're seeking "knowledge," not individual opinion.