The Philosophy Of Science And Communication Theory

The is not an attempt to provide an overview of theories in communication. Nor is it an attempt to provide a complete picture of approaches to communication theory. The book is an attempt to defend a very general empiricist approach to the scientific study of communication. The author is referring to the most general notion of empiricism, that we can come to some knowledge about the world through the use of our perceptions. Empiricism in these senses has taken quite a critical beating over the centuries, but in the sense in which he uses this term here it remains alive and well and prepared to serve as the foundation for the scientific study of communication, as it has for several decades. Secondly, the book is an attempt to defend a 'conventional' view of scientific theory. Thirdly, the book is an attempt to introduce into the mainstream of communication scholarship an approach to the philosophy of science known as 'scientific realism'. Fourthly, the book is a small part of the attempt to close some of the gaps between different sub-areas within communication science.

Science is an essentially cooperative, critical, and dynamic enterprise. Were it not for the continuous creation and improvement of special forms of communication, argumentation, and innovation, all of them suitable for its three key features, scientific knowledge and progress could hardly be achieved. The aim of this volume is to explore the nature of science communication in its several functions, modalities, combinations, and evolution - past, present, and future. One of our objectives is to provide an overview of the richness and variety of elements that take part in performing the complex tasks and fulfilling the functions of science communication. The overall structure and criteria for the choice of topics: 1. The origin and target of a communication episode - its source(s) and addressee(s). 2. The media of communication employed. 3. The thematic field and content types. 4. The distinction between aspects of science communication (e.g., media, texttypes, domains, communicative maxims) and aspects of research on science communication (e.g., the contribution of different research traditions to the understanding of science communication). 5. The history and dynamics of science communication (past, present, and future), both in an empirical perspective (e.g., the development of the research article) and a systematic perspective (e.g., what are basic types and mechanisms of change in science communication).

This book addresses some of the key questions that scientists have been asking themselves for centuries: what is knowledge? What is information? How do we know that we know something? How do we construct meaning from the perceptions of things? Although no consensus exists on a common definition of the concepts of information and communication, few can reject the hypothesis that information – whether perceived as « object » or as « process » - is a pre-condition for knowledge. Epistemology is the study of how we know things (anglophone meaning) or the study of how scientific knowledge is arrived at and validated (francophone conception). To adopt an epistemological stance is to commit oneself to render an account of what constitutes knowledge or in procedural terms, to render an account of when one can claim to know something. An epistemological theory imposes constraints on the interpretation of human cognitive interaction with the world. It goes without saying that different epistemological theories will have more or less restrictive criteria to distinguish what constitutes knowledge from what is not. If information is a pre-condition for knowledge acquisition, giving an account of how knowledge is acquired should impact our comprehension of information and communication as concepts. While a lot has been written on the definition of these concepts, less research has attempted to establish explicit links between differing theoretical conceptions of these concepts and the underlying epistemological stances. This is what this volume attempts to do. It offers a multidisciplinary exploration of information and communication as perceived in different disciplines and how those perceptions affect theories of knowledge.

This volume provides a graduate-level introduction to communication science, including theory and scholarship for masters and PhD students as well as practicing scholars. The work defines communication, reviews its history, and provides a broad look at how communication research is conducted. It also includes chapters reviewing the most frequently addressed topics in communication science. This book presents an overview of theory in general and of communication theory in particular, while offering a broad look at topics in communication that promote understanding of the key issues in communication science for students and scholars new to communication research. The book takes a predominantly "communication science" approach but also situates this approach in the broader field of communication, and addresses how communication science is related to and different from such approaches as critical and cultural studies and rhetoric. As an overview of communication science that will serve as a reference work for scholars as well as a text for the introduction to communication graduate studies course, this volume is an essential resource for understanding and conducting scholarship in the communication discipline.

This book is a philosophical introduction to the field of communication and media studies. In search of the philosophical backgrounds of that relatively young field, the book explores why this overwhelmingly popular discipline is in crisis. The book discusses classic introductions on communication, provides an update on lessons learned, and re-evaluates the work of pioneers in the light of up-to-date philosophical standards. It summarizes various debates surrounding the foundations of system theory and especially its applicability to the Social Sciences in general and to Communication Studies in particular. Communication schools promise their students an understanding of the source of a principal and dynamical power in their lives, a power shaping societies and identities, molding aspirations, and deciding their fates. They also promise students a practical benefit, a chance to learn the secret of controlling that dynamical power, improving a set of skills that would ensure them a critical edge in the future job market: become better media experts for all media. Yet no one seems to know how such promises are met. Can there be a general theory of communication? If not, what can (should) communication students learn? This book looks at the problem from a philosophical perspective and proposes a framework wherein critical cases can be tested.

The explosion of scientific information is exacerbating the information gap between richer/poorer, educated/less-educated publics. The proliferation of media technology and the popularity of the Internet help some keep up with these developments but also make it more likely others fall further behind. This is taking place in a globalizing economy and society that further complicates the division between information haves and have-nots and compounds the challenge of communicating about emerging science and technology to increasingly diverse audiences. Journalism about science and technology must fill this gap, yet journalists and journalism students themselves struggle to keep abreast of contemporary scientific developments. Scientist - aided by public relations and public information professionals - must get their stories out, not only to other scientists but also to broader public audiences. Funding agencies increasingly expect their grantees to engage in outreach and education, and such activity can be seen as both a survival strategy and an ethical imperative for taxpayer-supported, university-based research. Science communication, often in new forms, must expand to meet all these needs. Providing a comprehensive introduction to students, professionals and scholars in this area is a unique challenge because practitioners in these fields must grasp both the principles of science and the principles of science communication while understanding the social contexts of each. For this reason, science journalism and science communication are often addressed only in advanced undergraduate or graduate specialty courses rather than covered exhaustively in lower-division courses. Even so, those entering the field rarely will have a comprehensive background in both science and communication studies. This circumstance underscores the importance of compiling useful reference materials. The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication presents resources and strategies for science communicators, including theoretical material and background on recent controversies and key institutional actors and sources. Science communicators need to understand more than how to interpret scientific facts and conclusions; they need to understand basic elements of the politics, sociology, and philosophy of science, as well as relevant media and communication theory, principles of risk communication, new trends, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of science communication programmes, to mention just a few of the major challenges. This work will help to develop and enhance such understanding as it addresses these challenges and more. Topics covered include: advocacy, policy, and research organizations environmental and health communication philosophy of science media theory and science communication informal science education science journalism as a profession risk communication theory public understanding of science pseudo-science in the news special problems in reporting science and technology science communication ethics.

This book provides an overview of the theory and practice of science communication. It deals with modes of informal communication such as science centres, television programs, and journalism and the research that informs practitioners about the effectiveness of their programs. It aims to meet the needs of those studying science communication and will form a readily accessible source of expertise for communicators.

Contributors from the fields of philosophy, history of science, linguistics, logic, and economics take inspiration from the work of the late Thomas Kuhn, scholar of history and the philosophy of science, to address a variety of research lines in the pragmatical dimension of language, the internal ambiguity of linguistic standards, and the critical role of constructive translation as a bridge between seemingly incommensurable paradigms and cultures. The volume's 28 contributions are divided into four sections: incommensurability, translation, and theory change; communicating science; cognition and formal reconstruction; and lexicon and semantics and primarily consist of articles which emerged from the International Conference on Languages of Science, organized by the University of Bologna in October 1995. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR