The Social Relations of Physics, Mysticism, and Mathematics

Studies in Social Structure, Interests, and Ideas
1983
ISBN: 978-90-277-1536-4
Verlag: Springer Netherlands

Buch, Englisch, Band 10, 310 Seiten, HC runder Rücken kaschiert, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 1390 g

Reihe: Episteme

The problems I address in this book are among the least studied in the soci­ ology of science and knowledge. Part I is a critique of the claim that there are parallels between ancient mysticism and modern physics, and a sociological analysis of this claim as a strategy in intellectual conflict. This study must. ultimately be rooted more firmly in a: type of sociology of knowledge that is just now beginning to crystallize (and which I discuss in Chapter 7), and a sociology of religion that is not so much unknown as underground, and timid, that is, a non-worshipful materialist sociology of religion. My study of physics-mysticism parallelism is a vehicle for exploring epistemic strategies. I thus conclude Part I by sketching a materialist, emancipatory epistemic strategy. My conclusion brings together a number of ideas formulated by myself and others over the past several years, but stops short of a systematic synthesis. A more integrated and coherent "model" than what I can sketch here must wait on the results of research now in progress in the critical (as opposed to apologetic or worshipful) sociology of knowledge.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Restivo, S.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Wissenschaften: Theorie, Epistemologie, Methodik
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

I. Physics, Mysticism, and Society.- Section I. The Parallelist Perspective.- 1: Parallels Between Physics and Mysticism.- 2: The Pitfalls of Parallelism.- Section II. The Sociology of Physics and Mysticism.- 3: Mysticism as a Social Fact.- 4: Physics as a Social Fact.- Section III. Parallelism and Society.- 5: Interests and Ideas: Parallelism as an Intellectual Strategy.- 6: Parallelism, Science, and Society.- Section IV. Emancipatory Epistemology.- 7: Epistemic Strategies, Society, and Social Change.- II. The Social Roots of Mathematics.- Section V. Introduction.- 8: The Sociology of Mathematics.- Section VI. The Legacy of Marx.- 9: Dialectics, Materialism, and Mathematics.- 10: Historical Materialism and Mathematics.- 11: Contemporary Marxist Sociology of Mathematics.- Section VII. The Legacy of Spengler.- 12: Numbers and Cultures.- 13: Mathematics and World View.- Section VIII. Sociological Materialism and History of Mathematics: An Exploratory Case Study.- 14: Mathematics in Ancient Greece.- 15: Mathematics in Europe, 1200–1700.- Notes.- Name Index.