A systematic account of the importance of sociology for the understanding of scientific knowledge. Applying sociological analysis to specific historical case studies, the work attempts to show how the sociological approach is an essential complement to interpretations of scientific knowledge from other disciplines, and a necessary contribution to obtaining a scientific understanding of science. This book should be of interest to students in the social sciences and the history and philosophy of science, and to academics interested in knowledge, epistemology, the history of ideas and the "new" sociology of science.

Author Biography:
David Bloor is the Director of the Science Studies Unit at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Wittgenstein: A Social Theory of Knowledge and Knowledge and Social Imagery, and co-author of Scientific Knowledge.

An evaluation of Wittgenstein's account of rules and rule-following which brings together a combination of philosophical and sociological viewpoints. Wittgenstein claimed that the way we follow rules is an "institution" without ever explaining what he meant by this term. Wittgenstein's contribution to the debate has since been subject to opposed interpretations by "collectivist" and "individualist" readings by philosophers; in the light of this controversy, Bloor argues for a collectivist, sociological understanding of Wittgenstein's later work.

Why do aircraft fly? How do their wings support them? In the early years of aviation, there was an intense dispute between British and German experts over the question of why and how an aircraft wing provides lift. The British, under the leadership of the great Cambridge mathematical physicist Lord Rayleigh, produced highly elaborate investigations of the nature of discontinuous flow, while the Germans, following Ludwig Prandtl in Gottingen, relied on the tradition called "technical mechanics" to explain the flow of air around a wing. Much of the basis of modern aerodynamics emerged from this remarkable episode, yet it has never been subject to a detailed historical and sociological analysis. In "The Enigma of the Aerofoil", David Bloor probes a neglected aspect of this important period in the history of aviation. Bloor draws upon papers by the participants - their restricted technical reports, meeting minutes, and personal correspondence, much of which has never before been published - and reveals the impact that the divergent mathematical traditions of Cambridge and Gottingen had on this great debate. Bloor also addresses why the British, even after discovering the failings of their own theory, remained resistant to the German circulation theory for more than a decade. The result is essential reading for anyone studying the history, philosophy, or sociology of science or technology - and for all those intrigued by flight.

Why do aircraft fly? How do their wings support them? In the early years of aviation, there was an intense dispute between British and German experts over the question of why and how an aircraft wing provides lift. The British, under the leadership of the great Cambridge mathematical physicist Lord Rayleigh, produced highly elaborate investigations of the nature of discontinuous flow, while the Germans, following Ludwig Prandtl in Gottingen, relied on the tradition called "technical mechanics" to explain the flow of air around a wing. Much of the basis of modern aerodynamics emerged from this remarkable episode, yet it has never been subject to a detailed historical and sociological analysis. In "The Enigma of the Aerofoil", David Bloor probes a neglected aspect of this important period in the history of aviation. Bloor draws upon papers by the participants - their restricted technical reports, meeting minutes, and personal correspondence, much of which has never before been published - and reveals the impact that the divergent mathematical traditions of Cambridge and Gottingen had on this great debate. Bloor also addresses why the British, even after discovering the failings of their own theory, remained resistant to the German circulation theory for more than a decade. The result is essential reading for anyone studying the history, philosophy, or sociology of science or technology - and for all those intrigued by flight.

Fully revised and expanded, this second edition of A. Blythe's successful title on electrical properties of polymers covers both the fundamental and recent developments in this growing area. This book provides a broad and comprehensive account on the topic, describing underlying physical principles and synthesis through to emerging technologies. The new edition provides particular emphasis to the new generation of conductive polymers. Emerging uses of polymers in industrial applications are described and cover topics such as light-emitting diodes, flexible polymers and soft electronics. Written in an accessible style, without complicated theory, this book combines key concepts with applications. With the inclusion of further reading material provided at the end of each chapter for interested readers, this book is an authoritative guide to advanced-level undergraduates and graduates studying polymer, materials and physical sciences. It will also be of significant interest to researchers working in this evolving field.

Although science was once seen as the product of individual great men working in isolation, we now realize that, like any other creative activity, science is a highly social enterprise, influenced in subtle as well as obvious ways by the wider culture and values of its time. "Scientific Knowledge" is the first introduction to social studies of scientific knowledge.
The authors, all noted for their contributions to science studies, have organized this book so that each chapter examines a key step in the process of doing science. Using case studies from cognitive science, physics, and biology to illustrate their descriptions and applications of the social study of science, they show how this approach provides a crucial perspective on how science is actually done.
"Scientific Knowledge" will be of interest not only to those engaged in science studies, but also to anyone interested in the practice of science.

The first edition of this book profoundly challenged and divided students of philosophy, sociology, and the history of science when it was published in 1976. In this second edition, Bloor responds in a substantial new Afterword to the heated debates engendered by his book.