THE SOCIOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION OF SCIENCE WITHOUT NATURE

This paper critically examines the constructivist, relativist trend in the sociology of science and exposes its internal contradictions. It concludes that such a sociology has fabricated a science without natur e. This has obscured the importance of nature in science, has glossed over the manipulation of nature, and has, therefore, muddled one of th e most significant features of the contemporary world. The paper argue s in favour of transcending such pre-ecological sociology by incorpora ting into the analysis the unique learning curve of science, which res ults in both its utility and its danger, and by explicitly examining t he embeddedness of social action in the processes of nature.