by Culture is a broad term that encompasses the entire spectrum of beliefs, behavior, values, and knowledge within a society or group of people. Culture is driven by humans’ influence on society, which helps to develop societal norms. Science is a part of culture because both science and culture influence each other. Scientific and technological innovations forces a change in culture that society must adapt to, while culture influences the makeup of the scientific community as well as the focuses of scientific advancement.
Science has been influenced by culture since the very beginning of scientific development. As we discussed last week, science was created as a male-dominant concept and still remains a male-dominant in some capacities today. This gives evidence of science being a part of culture because science was developed and made up as a community using cultural and societal norms of male dominance. We can see over the course of history how science, as a counterpart of culture, has changed as a result of cultural adjustments. For example, as cultural norms slowly adjusted to the calls for equality of opportunities between men and women in society, the science community also adjusted by working to endorse and advance the involvement of women in science. Additionally, culture affects the focus of scientific research in many ways. Scientific and technological research are influenced and partly determined by the necessities of society. For example, advancements in technology and medical fields are often promoted by societal desires and needs within society. Another way culture affects science and scientific research is its influence on theory validity. According to Craig Resbult, “If scientists (or their financial supporters) have already accepted some cultural concepts, such as metaphysical and/or ideological theories, they will tend to prefer (and support) scientific theories that agree with these cultural-personal theories” (asa3.org). I tend to agree with Resbult’s claim because there seems to be a moderately strong cultural bias in science. Scientists are commonly concerned with their societal view or reputation based upon their cultural standpoint in their work.
Because science is a part of culture, culture is influenced by the scientific community as well. I think that there is no question that science influences people’s beliefs and interpretations of the world, therefore affecting the current culture. This comes about through the spreading of scientific ideas throughout society. Along with intellectual influences, scientific and technological innovations and involvement in society strongly affect culture. For example, the extensive advancements in medical fields have formed a certain culture within society regarding health and fitness. On the technology side of things, an obvious influence on culture is the changing of social norms. In recent years, phones have seemed to make humans an overall less social beings.
Science and culture are so interlaced with each other that it is only logical to identify science as a part of culture. Furthermore, culture involves a widespread set of meanings and values, which include influences from the scientific community. Because of these facts, I believe science is well qualified to be considered a part of society.
sources:
https://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/science/cp2.htm