ABSTRACT
From the thesis about the theoretical load of empirical concepts it seemed but a short step to proclaim "the abolition of the fact/theory distinction". The new sociology of science has replaced the concept of discovery with that of social construction. Constructivism is not an invention of the new sociology of science: it inheres in idealism. Social conventionalism, an offspring of the marriage of externalism and constructivism, implies instrumentalism or pragmatism. Instrumentalism or pragmatism does not "work" for science because scientific theories and experiments aim at constructing maximally consistent, true, and deep accounts of the real world. Pragmatism is inconsistent with rationalism but it goes well with intuitionism and even stronger forms of irrationalism, such as existentialism. In short, the new sociology of science suffers from behaviorism and pragmatism. Most of the new-style sociologists of science do not admire, trust, or love science.
