Discovery and discovering work in the sciences

Abstract

Following the publication of Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions, there was a brief period in which sociologists took an interest in the phenomenon of discovery in the sciences. The constructivist orientation that flourished in the sociology of scientific knowledge in the 1980s and early 90’s encouraged initial interest in discovery, but trends in the newly coalesced field of Science & Technology Studies (STS), along with changes in the natural sciences themselves, eventuated in widespread disregard of the topic. The present paper begins with a discussion of ordinary uses of the word “discovery” and more specialized conceptions of scientific discoveries. Drawing upon ordinary language philosophy, the paper suggests that “discovery” is used as an achievement verb, marking a “terminus” rather than an extended process or procedure. After discussing social-historical treatments of discovery as a communal construction, the paper observes that the topic of discovery, as a substantive event or process, largely vanished from research in the field of Science & Technology Studies. Finally, the paper summarizes Garfinkel’s focus on the work of a discovering science and considers if such a focus can offer a renewed interest in discovering work for studies of scientific practices.