Scientonomy (Aug 2021)
Disciplines in the Scientonomic Ontology
Abstract
The role of categories of knowledge, or disciplines, in science has not previously been explored in scientonomy. While disciplinary communities devoted to the production of knowledge are a modern phenomenon, the practice of dividing knowledge into categories is a universal feature of science. Although at any moment of time, many questions and theories can be part of a given discipline, not all of these are essential to the discipline. We show that two components are essential to a discipline: the discipline’s core questions as well as the discipline’s delineating theory, a second-order theory that identifies these questions as essential to the discipline. If the questions of one discipline are a proper subset of the questions of another discipline, the former discipline is a subdiscipline of the latter. Since a discipline is a complex entity consisting of questions and a theory, epistemic agents can take epistemic stances towards disciplines. A discipline is said to be accepted if its core questions and its delineating theory are all accepted. To illustrate the applicability of these new concepts, the transition from physical to biological anthropology is discussed. Suggested Modifications [Sciento-2021-0006]: Accept the following definitions of subquestion, core question, core theory, discipline, delineating theory, subdiscipline, and discipline acceptance: • Subquestion ≡ a question Q is a subquestion of another question Q', iff any direct answer to Q is also a partial answer to Q'. • Core Question ≡ a core question of a discipline is a question identified in the discipline’s delineating theory as definitive of the discipline. • Core Theory ≡ a core theory of a discipline is a theory presupposed by the discipline’s core questions. • Discipline ≡ a discipline is characterized by (1) a non-empty set of core questions Q and (2) the delineating theory stating that Q are the core questions of the discipline. • Delineating Theory ≡ a second-order theory identifying the set of core questions of a discipline. • Subdiscipline ≡ a discipline A is a subdiscipline of another discipline B, iff the set of questions of A, QA, is a proper subset of the questions of B, QB, i.e. if QA ⊂ QB. • Discipline Acceptance ≡ A discipline is said to be accepted by an epistemic agent if that agent accepts the core questions specified in the discipline’s delineating theory as well as the delineating theory itself. Also accept the following question as a legitimate topic of scientonomic inquiry: • Mechanism of Discipline Acceptance: what is the mechanism of discipline acceptance? How do disciplines become accepted? • Mechanism of Discipline Rejection: what is the mechanism of discipline rejection? How do disciplines become rejected? • Theories Shaping Core Questions: how do theories within a discipline shape and change the core questions of the disciplines?
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