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Major Accomplishment
David Bloor is a British sociologist. He is a professor in, and a former director of, the Science Studies Unit at the University of Edinburgh. He is a key figure in the Edinburgh school and played a major role in the development of the field of science and technology studies. -
Background on David Bloor
David was born in Derby, United Kingdom on June 28th, 1942- present. He has written widely on the Kuhn/Popper debate, the cognitive functions of metaphor, and on the sociology of scientific knowledge and Wittgenstein's philosophy. He has written many books; 'A Social Theory of Knowledge', 'Knowledge and Social Imagery' to name a few. -
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Strong Program
Bloor pioneers the Strong Program, meant to unite philosophy and sociology of science and provide a form of standards for all scientists to approach research. When describing the Strong Program, Godfrey-Smith states, "A central idea of the strong program is the 'symmetry principle.' This principle holds that all forms of belief and behavior should be approached using the same kinds of explanations "(126). This became a largely debated school of thought in the scientific community. -
David Bloor and His Speech
His thesis Speech and the regulation of behavior wins him his PHD and can be considered the first work that would lead him to changing science. Perhaps his most famous book, Knowledge and Social Imagery, wouldn't come for another four years. This would grant him access to the scientific community's attention allow for the Strong Program to be given life. -
Knowledge with Social Imagery
He writes Knowledge and Social Imagery, and in it, covers the four governing tenets. Bloor explains that causal is the circumstance that discoveries are made outside of just social reasons, impartial looks at both the success and failures of science that demand explanation, symmetrical is the universal way of approaching scientific successes and failures, and reflexive is the need for basic information (7). These tenets helped develop the success of this new form of sociology. -
In-depth of the Strong Program
