Editing Knowledge (section)

=== Sociology ===
{{main|Sociology of knowledge}}
The sociology of knowledge is the subfield of sociology that studies how thought and society are related to each other.<ref name="auto1">{{multiref | {{harvnb|Coser|2009|loc=[https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/sociology-and-social-reform/sociology-general-terms-and-concepts/sociology-knowledge Knowledge, Sociology of]}} | {{harvnb|Tufari|2003|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4C0KAQAAMAAJ Knowledge, Sociology of]}} | {{harvnb|Scheler|Stikkers|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pFqrO7Lxiw4C&pg=PA23 23]}} }}</ref> Like the anthropology of knowledge, it understands "knowledge" in a wide sense that encompasses philosophical and political ideas, religious and ideological doctrines, folklore, law, and technology. The sociology of knowledge studies in what sociohistorical circumstances knowledge arises, what consequences it has, and on what existential conditions it depends. The examined conditions include physical, demographic, economic, and sociocultural factors. For instance, philosopher [[Karl Marx]] claimed that the dominant ideology in a society is a product of and changes with the underlying socioeconomic conditions.<ref name="auto1"/> Another example is found in forms of decolonial scholarship that claim that colonial powers are responsible for the [[hegemony]] of Western knowledge systems. They seek a [[decolonization of knowledge]] to undermine this hegemony.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Lee|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtArDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT67 67]}} | {{harvnb|Dreyer|2017|pp=1–7}} }}</ref> A related issue concerns the link between knowledge and [[Power (social and political)|power]], in particular, the extent to which knowledge is power. The philosopher [[Michel Foucault]] explored this issue and examined how knowledge and the institutions responsible for it control people through what he termed [[biopower]] by shaping societal norms, values, and regulatory mechanisms in fields like [[psychiatry]], medicine, and the [[penal system]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bosančić|2018|pp=186–188}} | {{harvnb|Gutting|Oksala|2022|loc=§ 3.1 Histories of Madness and Medicine, § 3.4 History of the Prison, § 3.5 History of Modern Sexuality}} | {{harvnb|Power|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_f3JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 32–33]}} | {{harvnb|Appelrouth|Edles|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=EUQT47IqVdgC&pg=PA643 643]}}}}</ref>

A central subfield is the [[sociology of scientific knowledge]], which investigates the social factors involved in the production and validation of scientific knowledge. This encompasses examining the impact of the [[Funding of science|distribution of resources]] and rewards on the scientific process, which leads some areas of research to flourish while others languish. Further topics focus on selection processes, such as [[Scholarly peer review|how academic journals decide]] whether to publish an article and how academic institutions recruit researchers, and the general values and norms characteristic of the [[Scientist|scientific profession]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bloor|2004|pp=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-1986-9_25 919–920]}} | {{harvnb|Pinch|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=0qagBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT14 14]}} | {{harvnb|Kitchener|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=T7uYSFSxxVkC&pg=PA68 68]}} }}</ref>