Social Representations and the Philosophy of Science: Belief in Ontological Realism as Objectification

Abstract

Work by Moscovici and colleagues on the theory of social representations has long been thought to be relevant for the philosophy and sociology of science, although few studies have actually explored the interdisciplinary relationship in any detail. It is argued here that the Moscovician concept of objectification bears striking similarity to the philosophy of science notion of ontological realism, and that the theory of social representations leads to the interesting but counterintuitive prediction that laypersons will be more likely than scientific experts to hold positions of ontological realism about scientific theories and entities. In an effort to apply the theory of social representations to issues of philosophy of science, six related hypotheses for the social psychology of scientific knowledge are offered.