Open AccessPower Relations in Science
Author(s) -
Fábio Freitas,
Olival Freire,
Iolanda Pinto de Faria
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
transversal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2526-2270
DOI - 10.24117/2526-2270.2020.i8.04
Subject(s) - bohr model , field (mathematics) , epistemology , power (physics) , monopoly , sociology , science studies , social science , quantum mechanics , philosophy , physics , economics , mathematics , pure mathematics , market economy
Pierre Bourdieu challenged the notions of science when he presented it as a field of peers competing for the monopoly of scientific authority. As scientific capital equals power, science disputes become disputes for power. Yet, simultaneously, those disputes occur within the internal logic and language of the scientific field. In this article, we present those ideas and examine a case study within the history of quantum mechanics, a dispute inside the ongoing controversy about the foundations of quantum mechanics. We present the Wheeler-Everett and Bohr dialogue in terms of Bourdieu’s sociology of science and discuss the insights that such ideas can bring into the history of science.