Science Wars or the Need for a Non-Dogmatic Defense of Realism

Abstract

Humanities, social sciences, and cultural studies are very heterogeneous with regard to fields of research, methodology, and so on. However, there is one aspect that many scholars and research programs of those scientific disciplines have in common: ontological and epistemological relativism which result in moral relativism. Briefly formulated, ontological and epistemological relativism means that the world we live in is nothing but a social construction embedded in a certain cultural context. From that point of view, any realistic ontology and epistemology seems to be old-fashioned and even misguided. Yet, the debate of realists and relativists reached its recent zenith during the so-called ‘Science Wars’. Therefore, this debate shall be dealt with in the following text. Additionally, due to its realistic position and the attacks against it, the role of Critical Rationalism within the Science Wars shall be highlighted. The beginning of the dispute will be described, which was given public awareness by the so-called ‘Sokal’s Hoax’. Because Sokal identifies Critical Rationalism as a source of relativism, reasons for this reproach shall be mentioned. I shall reject this critique but I also will stress that there are reasons to criticize Critical Rationalism and its role in the Science Wars, because there are some ambiguities in its defense of realism. As a conclusion I will argue that the con-ceptualization of science as mere social construction is misleading and even dangerous not only for science itself but for the whole society.

Keywords: Sokal’s Hoax, Science Wars, Critical Rationalism, Realism, Relativism