David Bloor: Born June 28th,1942- Present Day

  • Background

    David Bloor born in Derby is a British sociologist, professor and former director of science studies at the university of Edinburgh. Prior to that, he had studied philosophy and psychology at Keele University and Cambridge University. He is best known for advocating the strong programme in the sociology of scientific knowledge, most notably in his book Knowledge and Social Imagery.
  • 1970s

    In the 1970s he and Barry Barnes were the major figures of the strong programme, which put forward queries against philosophical a priorism in the understanding of scientific knowledge. In 1972 he was awarded a PhD by the University of Edinburgh for his thesis "Speech and the regulation of behaviour." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP7w7Un4zaE
  • Knowledge and Social Imagery

    Published in 1976 It is a work in the field of sociology of science, which explores the social and cultural factors that shape scientific knowledge. In “Knowledge and Social Imagery,” Bloor argues that scientific knowledge is not objective or neutral but is shaped by social and cultural factors.
  • the Strong Programme

    A variety of the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) particularly associated with David Bloor,[1] Barry Barnes, Harry Collins, Donald A. Mackenzie, and John Henry. The strong programme's influence on science and technology studies is credited as being unparalleled (Latour 1999). It is a reaction against "weak" sociologies of science, which restricted the application of sociology to "failed" or "false" theories, such as phrenology.
  • Wittgenstein

    This is another work of Bloor's it presents a systematic exposition of Wittgenstein's later philosophical work, capitalizing its strong sociological and naturalist thrust. In his later writings, Wittgenstein was consistent in stressing the priority of society over the individual and regarding individual actions and beliefs as natural phenomena.
  • John Desmond Bernal Prize

    The Prestigeous award is given annually by the Society for Social Studies of Science to scholars. Judged to have made a distinguished contribution to the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). He was awarded the John Desmond Bernal Prize in 1996 in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the field. To this day he is still a professor at his respective university and continues to impact the next generation of great minds.