The Social Basis of Scientific Discoveries by Augustine Brann... - 9780521281638

The Social Basis of Scientific DiscoveriesAuthor(s): Augustine Brannigan\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521281638, 978-0521281638\nSynopsis\nWhat constitutes a scientific discovery? How do discoveries happen and how are they recognised as such? These are questions of central concern to scientists and philosophers. In this book, Augustine Brannigan provides a critical examination of the major theories which have been devised to account for discoveries and innovations in science, and develops a fresh alternative. Dr Brannigan begins by arguing that most theories fall into one of two classes: mentalistic theories, which describe how ideas come into the mind, and cultural theories, which describe how they 'mature' in a particular culture. His account reveals a series of empirical and methodological problems that make these existing models untenable and he proposes as an alternative a sociologica.