ABSTRACT
Scientific realism (SR) is a view of scientific knowledge, and scientific knowledge obviously is the product of research groups, traditions, schools of thought, or paradigms. Nevertheless, these social dimensions of scientific knowledge to date have not been at the forefront of SR theorising. Work on these dimensions has, however, been prominent in various forms of social epistemology. This chapter seeks to connect the two fields by continuing a debate over the relationship between SR and one important strand of social epistemology, to wit, the “sociology of scientific knowledge” (SSK). Some philosophical commentators take SSK to be incompatible with SR, others as fitting with SR. I shall concentrate here on the contributions of four authors that exemplify different possible stances. I will try to defend an irenic solution to the dispute.
