Scientificity in a cyborg-approach
By what criteria can it be decided whether a statement is scientific or not? Some scholars stress the objectivity of the statement, whereas subjective dimensions of the scientific activity are viewed as bias ideally to be removed. Others abandon the notion of objectivity as the ideal of research, and view scientific authority as an instrument of power. The purpose of this article is to establish a perspective on sociological scientificity, which is not dependent on these dichotomous positions. Following Donna Haraway, we call this approach a ‘cyborg-approach’. We claim it has the potential to redefine the problem of scientificity without undermining it. Impor-tantly, the cyborg-approach dissolves several deeply imbedded modern dichotomies, not least the radical divide between the human and the technological. Dissolving these implies reconsidering the notions of objectivity and scientificity anew. From a cyborg-perspective scientificity can be reached by the construction of ‘partial connec-tions’ with the investigated. To illustrate this approach we draw on a discussion of the TV-show Big Brother.
