Science As Power: Discourse and Ideology in Modern Society

Science, argues the author, has established itself as not merely the dominant, but the only legitimate form of human knowledge. By tying its truth claims to methodology, science has claimed independence from the influence of social and historical conditions. Science is therefore seen as an authority beyond critique, whose norms and values are neutral, self-evident and absolute. Aronowitz asserts that the norms of science are by no means self-evident and that science is best seen as a socially constructed discourse that legitimates its power by presenting itself as truth. He first discusses science and technology as hegemony, noting that fundamentalist religion, the ecology movement and radical feminism have all challenged the scientific worldview in recent years. He then examines Marx's theory of science and traces shifting notions of science and its discourse within the Marxist tradition - including the work of the Frankfurt School and Habermas. In the last part, he explores developments in philosophy, history and sociology of science that have begun to question its conceptions of truth and knowledge, but which still remain within the scientific discourse. Aronowitz ends with a call for a social theory of science that combines critical distance with historical analysis.