ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Scientific Knowledge Considered as a Series of Tensions: Cases in Map Production c.1875-1925

• In Event: Objectivity Reconsidered

English Abstract

The talk suggests a method of studying the contested nature of science by considering the processes involved in the production of knowledge as a response to a series of tensions. Informed by work on the philosophy of measurement by Hasok Chang and others, it uses specific examples from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society, London, to highlight the social pressures brought to bear in the production of maps. It argues that studying measurement, and the results of measurement, in this way can shed light on the social negotiations which took place in order to produce what was generally accepted as knowledge, confirming that knowledge production is a highly contested communal endeavour.
The first tension is that between taking actual measurements objectively, and a desire to correlate them with previous results, which also calls into question the ownership of the data. A second is between the ability to use precision instruments for some measurements but not others, leading to a mis-match in tolerances. A third is the desire to record physical phenomena but not having instruments that are trusted, so having to test them simultaneously with using them. A fourth is between theory and instrumentation, such as when an instrument is available, but there is ambiguity in what is being measured. Tensons arise, with negotiation being required. The various factions involved: travellers, map-makers, publishers, instrument makers, and the Council of the Royal Geographical Society, all play a part in establishing agreed knowledge, undermining the concept of unadulterated objectivity.

Author

• Jane Wess