Social epistemology and information science

Završni rad opisuje pojavu nove discipline pod nazivom "socijalna epistemologija". Nakon početne terminološke i teoretske konstrukcije paradigme, brojni filozofi ponudili su svoja vlastita viđenja na temu sveopće filozofije znanja i ljudskog kreiranja te interpretacije tog istog znanja. Ovaj rad ukratko predstavlja filozofska razmišljanja američkog filozofa i fizičara Thomasa Kuhna, austrijsko-britanskog profesora i filozofa Karla Poppera te većinskim dijelom teorijske postavke značajnog američkog teoretičara knjižničarstva, Jessea Shere. Ponajveći dio rada nastoji naglasiti sponu između socijalne epistemologije i informacijske znanosti sa specifičnim naglaskom na poveznicu između socijalne epistemologije i knjižničarstva.This final paper describes the emergence of a new discipline called "Social Epistemology". After the initial terminological and theoretical construction of the paradigm, numerous philosophers offered their own views on the subject of the general philosophy of knowledge and human creation and interpretation of the same knowledge. This work briefly represents the philosophical thinking of the American philosopher and physicist Thomas Kuhn, the Austrian-British professor and philosopher Karl Popper, and most of the paper is concerned with theoretical setting of a significant US theoretician of librarianship, Jesse Shera. Most of the work seeks to emphasize the link between social epistemology and librarianship

Social epistemology and information science

Završni rad opisuje pojavu nove discipline pod nazivom "socijalna epistemologija". Nakon početne terminološke i teoretske konstrukcije paradigme, brojni filozofi ponudili su svoja vlastita viđenja na temu sveopće filozofije znanja i ljudskog kreiranja te interpretacije tog istog znanja. Ovaj rad ukratko predstavlja filozofska razmišljanja američkog filozofa i fizičara Thomasa Kuhna, austrijsko-britanskog profesora i filozofa Karla Poppera te većinskim dijelom teorijske postavke značajnog američkog teoretičara knjižničarstva, Jessea Shere. Ponajveći dio rada nastoji naglasiti sponu između socijalne epistemologije i informacijske znanosti sa specifičnim naglaskom na poveznicu između socijalne epistemologije i knjižničarstva.This final paper describes the emergence of a new discipline called "Social Epistemology". After the initial terminological and theoretical construction of the paradigm, numerous philosophers offered their own views on the subject of the general philosophy of knowledge and human creation and interpretation of the same knowledge. This work briefly represents the philosophical thinking of the American philosopher and physicist Thomas Kuhn, the Austrian-British professor and philosopher Karl Popper, and most of the paper is concerned with theoretical setting of a significant US theoretician of librarianship, Jesse Shera. Most of the work seeks to emphasize the link between social epistemology and librarianship

"A Brilliant Mind": Margaret Egan and Social Epistemology

Margaret Egan (1905???59) taught at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago (1946???55) and at the School of Library Science at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (1955???59). With her colleague Jesse Shera, Egan wrote ???Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography??? for Library Quarterly in 1952; this article marked the fi rst appearance of the term ???social epistemology.??? After Egan???s death, Shera has often been credited for the idea of social epistemology. However, there is ample evidence to show that it was Egan who originated the concept???one that is commonly viewed as fundamental to the theoretical foundations of library and information science.published or submitted for publicatio

Towards a social theoretical foundation for Information Science

The scientific nature of Information Science and its interdisciplinary relationships with other fields are discussed. I review some of the theoretical positions that coexist, oftentimes in conflict with each other, including the Mathematical Theory of Communication, Social Epistemology, Floridi’s Philosophy of Information, and theoretical positions in areas such as information technologies, information retrieval, bibliometrics, and big data. I conclude that the theoretical project of Social Epistemology, in its original conception by Egan and Shera, in its current manifestations in the philosophy of Steve Fuller, and in the paradigm of domain analysis by Hjørland, is one of the most solid proposals for providing a social, theoretical foundation for Information Science

Plurality of Traditions and Metatheories in Information Science

Information science presupposes multi traditions because of its close relationship to the convergence of several fields of science that saw epistemic and practical needs and demands due to the phenomenon of the information revolution and information and communication technology (ICT). The multi traditions in information science are relevant to explain limitless study objects in information science in understanding reality and ways of gaining knowledge throughout the development of science. A previous study on ontology and epistemology shows that there is a limitation on human reasoning on the understanding reality that affects further development of science. The plurality of traditions enables seeing information sciences from many different perspectives. The question posed is what methodological assumptions, approaches, and methods are used to direct and base this field of inquiry? The phenomenological hermeneutic method is used to be able to understand and interpret texts relating to ontological and epistemological views in information science. As a result, there is a dualism of views in information science that positions it in different epistemic constellations. The view that puts forward knowledge as the object of study uses the social epistemological approach as its theoretical foundation. Meanwhile, the view that emphasizes information as an object of knowledge underlies its conceptual foundation on information philosophy. This epistemic change changes the paradigm, approach, method, and position of the epistemology and ultimately repositioned the scientific area. This methodological pluralism also presupposes the involvement of evaluative-ethical dimensions so that norms and values become a source of reference in gaining knowledge. In other words, the development of science should not only focus on the use of descriptive-explanatory scientific language

Plurality of Traditions and Metatheories in Information Science

Information science presupposes multi traditions because of its close relationship to the convergence of several fields of science that saw epistemic and practical needs and demands due to the phenomenon of the information revolution and information and communication technology (ICT). The multi traditions in information science are relevant to explain limitless study objects in information science in understanding reality and ways of gaining knowledge throughout the development of science. A previous study on ontology and epistemology shows that there is a limitation on human reasoning on the understanding reality that affects further development of science. The plurality of traditions enables seeing information sciences from many different perspectives. The question posed is what methodological assumptions, approaches, and methods are used to direct and base this field of inquiry? The phenomenological hermeneutic method is used to be able to understand and interpret texts relating to ontological and epistemological views in information science. As a result, there is a dualism of views in information science that positions it in different epistemic constellations. The view that puts forward knowledge as the object of study uses the social epistemological approach as its theoretical foundation. Meanwhile, the view that emphasizes information as an object of knowledge underlies its conceptual foundation on information philosophy. This epistemic change changes the paradigm, approach, method, and position of the epistemology and ultimately repositioned the scientific area. This methodological pluralism also presupposes the involvement of evaluative-ethical dimensions so that norms and values become a source of reference in gaining knowledge. In other words, the development of science should not only focus on the use of descriptive-explanatory scientific language

When We Hold No Truths to Be Self-Evident: Truth, Belief, Trust, and the Decline in Trials

This article will explore the relationship between the vanishing trial and the changing ways in which we think about truth. First, it briefly overviews how we think about knowing what is true: epistemology and this history of philosophy. Second, it looks to the philosophy of science and history of social science for new theories and methods about how we ascertain and construct meaning and what we believe to be real and true. Third, it examines our changing relation to information in the face of the information explosion : information is the evidence upon which we reach a conclusion about what is true. Fourth, it relates these changes to the philosophy of law and theories of the jury and adversary system. Fifth, it examines what social science has taught us about truth, belief, trust, justice, and control over information. Finally, it addresses how these changes may explain why litigants are using mediation, arbitration, and other forms of appropriate dispute resolution in lieu of the adversarial civil trial

Socioscientific Decision-Making in Undergraduate Students: The Role of Personal Epistemology

Socioscientific issues (SSIs), or controversial scientific issues with social implications, influence members of society regardless of demographic. SSIs are contentious and ill-structured, meaning they do not have a definitive answer. To properly equip students with the tools needed to handle SSIs, undergraduate science curricula emphasize scientific literacy skills, such as the ability to search, recognize, and utilize accurate scientific information when handling science driven issues outside of the classroom. However, SSIs are influenced by political, social, economic, and cultural stakeholders. Therefore, students may not be basing their SSI decisions off of accurate information. An individual’s personal epistemology is known to contribute toward how someone thinks, perceives, and behaves surrounding ill-structured problems. Personal epistemology is defined as an individual’s personal theories surrounding knowledge and knowing. This dissertation examines how epistemological mechanisms contribute toward undergraduate students’ SSI decision-making processes through qualitatively investigating how (1) students evaluate evidence during SSI decision-making, (2) how students justify their use of evidence when explaining their SSI decisions, and how (3) identity commitments from sociocultural in-groups relate toward students’ ways of knowing during SSI decision-making. The results of this dissertation explain how students are utilizing information when handling SSIs. By furthering our understanding of these processes, instructors of science courses may tailor their coursework to acknowledge the various ways of knowing students are drawing upon when thinking through an SSI. By doing so, instructors can create learning environments that encourage objectivity when discussing SSIs within the classroom

Two theoretical dimensions of the cyber hate crime

The impact and relationship between technologies and society establish the development of certain adaptive models, based on coexistence (Human-information-Machine), as well as several behavioral and cognitive changes of the human being, and new models of influence and social control through ubiquitous communication. which is the basis of a new social units called "virtual communities". The rupture of social norms that accompanies rapid social change, and subsequently the appearance of sub-cultural values establishes gaining status of participation in criminal activities, the components of social unites in general conform to social norms by social ties. the individuals or groups see themselves unfairly disadvantaged compared to other similar individuals, within physical-cybernetic ecosystem environment, which supports the interconnection and transformation of social phenomenon of digital dimension, with several implications in cyber hate crime. Thereby establishing the theoretical basis for further research looking which social vulnerability, identify the trajectory of the massive vector of impact "Information", which is a component of social cybernetics from the following three dimensions: (P) Propagation - (R) Replica - (C) Control called the "Cyber Hate Crime Pathway" that links hate crimes within the cyber-physical ecosystem, and where different types of social vulnerability are established. This study incorporates an epistemology approach of the relation between social and cybernetic theories, that will allow establishing a scientific base for future research in the field of new phenomena that will continue to appear within the Physical-Cybernetic ecosystem. It will also allow the contributions and implications to science derived from the product of this research establish a global holistic field applied to criminal justice system, academic and the new entities of social cybernetic

Pharmaco-epistemology for the prescribing geriatrician

Clinicians are becoming more reliant on their interpretation of clinical trial information to guide prescribing rather than their clinical skills. Thus to improve prescribing, it is increasingly important for clinicians to have an appreciation of epistemology (the science of knowledge and its interpretation) and the broader social context of knowledge. The insights of epistemologists can be useful in understanding the different ways in which clinical trials data are interpreted