The Cognitive Paradigm: Cognitive Science, a Newly Explored Approach to the Study of Cognition Applied in an Analysis of Science and Scientific Knowledge

330 Pages·1982·9.86 MB·English

by  Marc De Mey (auth.)

THE COGNITIVE PARADIGM
SOCIOLOGY OF THE SCIENCES
MONOGRAPHS
Managing Editors:
R. WhitleY,Manchester Business School, University ofM anchester
L. Graham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
H. Nowotny, European Cen tre for Social Welfare Training & Research, Vienna
P. Weingart, Universitiit Bielefeld
Editorial Board:
G. B6hme, Technische Hochschule, Darmstadt
N. Elias, Universitiit Bielefeld
Y. Elkana, The Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation, Jerusalem
R. Krohn, McGill University, Montreal
W. Lepenies, Freie Universitiit Berlin
H. Martins, St. Antony's College, Oxford
E. Mendelsohn, Harvard University, Massachusetts
H. Rose, University ofB radford, Bradford, West Yorkshire
C. Salomon-Bayet, Centre National de liz Recherche Scientifique, Paris
1982
MARC DE MEY
University of Ghent, Dept. of Logic and Epistemology, Belgium
THE COGNITIVE
PARADIGM
Cognitive Science, a Newly Explored Approach to the
Study of Cognition Applied in an Analysis of
Science and Scientific Knowledge
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
DORDRECHT: HOLLAND / BOSTON: U.S.A.
LONDON: ENGLAND
Ubrary of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mey, Marc de, 1940-
The cognitive paradigm.
(Sociology of the sciences monographs; 1)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Science-Philosophy. 2. Science-Methodology. 3. Cognition.
I. Title. II. Series
Q175.M5447 1982 501 82-10162
ISBN-I3: 978-90-277-1600-2 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-7956-7
DOl: \0. \007/978-94-009-7956-7
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
P.O. Box 17,3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland
Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada
by Kluwer Boston Inc.,
190 Old Derby Street, Hingham, MA 02043, U.S.A.
In all other countries, sold and distributed
by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group,
P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland.
D. Reidel Publishing Company is a member of the Kluwer Group.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 1982 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
and copyrightholders as specified on the appropriate pages within
Solleover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1982
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
To the memory of Jean Piaget
and to Leo Apostel
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorial Introduction xi
Preface xiii
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE COGNITIVE VIEW
1. The Development of the Cognitive View 3
Perception, Pattern Recognition and Picture-processing 5
Communication and Language Processing 11
The Generic Scheme 16
2. World Views and Models 19
The Multiplicity of World Views 20
The Simplest Model of a World View 22
'Self' and 'r as Parts of a World View 25
World Views as Social Entities 27
Combination and Interaction of World Views 30
Information Processing and Views on Science 33
A Prefatory Task 36
3. Positivism as a Monadic View 38
Positivism and Scientism 38
Empiristic Units ofK nowledge 40
Helmholtz's Cognitive Model 41
Scientistic Metaphysics 43
From Dualism to Neutral Monism 44
The Status of Concepts 46
Scientific Concepts: Qusters ofM onads 47
4. Logical Positivism: A Structural View 50
The StlUcture ofN atural Language 51
The Logical ReconstlUction ofL anguage 54
The Emphasis on StlUcture 56
viii Table of Contents
The Logical Positivist Model ofS cientific Theory 58
Logical Positivist Philosophy of Science 59
5. Contexts of Science: Sciences of Science 63
Merton's Nonns of Science 63
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors 67
The Personality of the Scientist 71
The Multiplicity ofA rguments in the History of Science 75
The Multiplicity of Scopes in History ofS cience 76
The Science of Science 78
6. The Cognitive View on Science: Paradigms 82
An Integrated Approach to the Copernican Revolution 82
The Standard Account of the Kuhnian Model 84
Paradigms as Cognitive Units 89
Conceptual Schemes and the Functions of Paradigms 93
Disciplinary Matrix and Exemplar 96
The Social Nature of Paradigms 100
Paradigm-studies 102
PART TWO: THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF SCIENCE
7. Bibliometrics and the Structure of Science 111
Bibliometrics and Research on Science 111
The Growth of Science 112
The Detection of Growth Points and Secondary Literature 115
The Metabolism of Growth and Primary Literature 119
Citation Netwo~s 124
Co-citation Clustering 125
Bibliometrics and Scientometrics 130
8. Informal Groups and the Origin of Networks 132
Invisible Colleges and Specialties 133
Characteristics ofI nvisible Colleges 135
Invisible Colleges and Small Groups 136
Communication Patterns and Infonnation Flow 138
Interdisciplinarity and the Origin of Specialties 140
Table of Contents ix
Migrations into Psychology: Two Examples 142
Innovation and Discipleship 145
9. The life Cycle of Scientific Specialties 148
The Stages of the Specialty Life Cycle 149
Regulative Mechanisms and Growth 154
Finalization: Cognitive and Social in Sequence? 159
Escalatory Expansion ofD iffusion Studies 162
Forms ofS pecialties and Patterns ofL ife Cycles 165
Social Studies of Science 168
PART THREE: COGNITIVE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS
OF SCIENCE
10. Paradigms and the Psychology of Attention and Perception 173
Gestalt Perception and Gestalt Switch as Exemplars 175
Perception and Selective Attention 176
A Stratified Model ofP erception 182
Interactive and Integrative Processes in Perception 189
Analysis of a Gestalt Switch in Science: Harvey's Discovery 192
11. Puzzle-solving and Reorganization of World Views 202
Frames 105
Defaults and Exemplars 208
Problem-solving and Debugging 211
Puzzle-solving and Heterarchical Control 212
Procedural Aspects of Sc5enti/ic Knowledge 215
Selfworld Segmentation and Compatibility of World Views 218
Paradigms and Perspectives 222
12. Conservation and the Dynamics of Conceptual Systems 227
Scientific Knowledge and Children's Concepts 228
Action and Adaptation 230
Table Tennis Ball Expertise 233
Piaget's Stages and the Finalization-model 237
Conservation and Closure of Conceptual Systems 238
Harvey: Conservation of the Blood? 241
Perspectives on an Object 244
x Table of Contents
Paradigms and Development 247
Individual Discovery and Social Success 248
Epilogue 252
Notes 260
Bibliography 283
Index 304