(Ne)autonomija društvenih nauka u globalizaciji koja nije globalna
(Non)autonomy of social sciences in globalization that is not global

Author(s): Alpar Lošonc
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Sociology, Globalization
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: globalization; social sciences; quasi-market organizations; objectivity; truth in science
Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on the position of social sciences in the context of globalization. It consists of three parts. In the first part, I show that despite frequent use, globalization is a term containing different antinomies. Taking particular account of the fact that the relevant aspects of globalization are socially constructed, the article emphasizes the elements of asymmetry and hegemony. In the second part, I argue that the antinomies mentioned are also reflected in relation to the social sciences. Paying particular attention to the problem of interference between scientific and non-scientific aspects in the social sciences the article I rely on Robert Merton’s dual criterion, which implements the “communist norm“ of the distribution of scientific results, but also the dynamics of the desire for recognition, which is considered as a motivational resource for social science performance. The article questions how these criteria are reflected in the strands of globalization? I point out critical remarks in relation to those aspects of social science practice that weaken the possibility of achieving a reflected consensus in the same sciences. The article also criticizes the mimetic relation of social sciences to the modalities of market rationality. In the third part of the paper, I analyze the phenomenology of objectivity in global contexts and show that the issue of objectivity shows aspects of the antinomy mentioned. The article particularly thematizes the status of knowledge in the social sciences with particular reference to the fabrication of ignorance, and to the results of critical research in agnotology. Referring to the involvement of the social sciences in interpre- ting climate change and the crisis of 2007, the article sheds light on the relationship between objectivity and global relations. The conclusion presents the tension between market-driven globalization and the ideal of objectivity in the social sciences realized through the reflective communication of members of the scientific community.

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