HOW TO USE THE VISUAL IN SCIENTIFIC STUDIES? (FOLLOWING PETER GALISON AND LORRAINE DASTON)
Unlike the visual as a component of scientific practices, the study of scientific visualizations is a young field of epistemology that has only recently begun to gain momentum. Despite its “young” age, this field of research has already been enriched by all kinds of approaches, concepts, and independent conclusions. In my opinion, Peter Galison and Lorraine Daston’s book Objectivity can be considered as a work which, besides bringing obvious innovations in understanding how knowledge is produced, including knowledge about knowledge production, summarizes all achievements of modern epistemology and history of science, first of all, epistemology of the visual or VSTS (Visual Science and Technology Studies). From this it can be inferred that, among other things, in addition to the study of objectivity, the authors are inventing a new way of speaking about science. The visual in science, with all the possible ways of practicing it, allows the authors, moving in one way or another in the direction of pragmatic approaches, to avoid externalistic versions of explanations of knowledge production. This is achieved by the fact that the researchers do not look at some local visualizations, but work with whole assemblages of images, based on the premise that the visual is an inalienable part of science. In order to understand what Objectivity is, one must refer to works that also investigate the visual. It turned out to be important to demonstrate that contemporary research often takes place at the junction of different disciplines, with the assumption that strict disciplinary distinctions for this research are as real as pastoral ideals. By reclaiming the status of alienated scientific components, such approaches demonstrate that science is by no means reducible to some exclusively a priori or transcendental propositions. On the contrary, it confirms that science is done here and now, and is incredibly close to us, which means that one cannot simply pass by any of the elements it practices.