The Study of China in Universities: A Comparative Case Study of A ...

There are, however, some theoretical criticisms that need to be further considered. If Mannheim’s theories of the sociology of knowledge are to be used in this empirical research project, criticisms of his theories by sociologists cannot be overlooked. Some critics label Mannheim’s theories as being hard to grasp (as mentioned earlier), with one of the drawbacks being that the theories tend to be theoretical rather than empirical. From a sociologists’ viewpoint, they are considered in need of systemization (Wolff, 1983). David Bloor (1976) pointed out that what is needed in investigating a field of knowledge is not merely an examination of scientific knowledge in social terms but a scrutiny of scientific knowledge using scientific methods. This is where he criticized the sociology of knowledge for its lack of guidance in providing a methodological approach to sociological investigation. Having adopted Mannheim’s theories, I recognized that to utilize his thinking for this investigation, a methodological concept needed to be developed and incorporated into the practical level of the investigation. In the next section, I discuss Bloor’s sociology of knowledge and illustrate how I believe his theories offer assistance in this study.

2.1.2. Bloor’s Sociology of Knowledge

Bloor is known for his contribution to the sociology of knowledge in the development of a “strong program” in the field at the University of Edinburgh. Hattiangadi (2002) credited Bloor with rescuing the sociology of knowledge from the comparative neglect in which it had found itself since its earliest inception. Bloor argued that it is necessary to use scientific methods to examine the nature of scientific knowledge; otherwise, the sociology of knowledge would be confined to being no more than the sociology of a projection of our ideological concerns (Bloor, 1976).

In one of his publications, Bloor provides decisive clarification of how sociological investigations in knowledge should be approached. This can be found in his article entitled “Wittgenstein and Mannheim on the Sociology of Mathematics,” published in 1973. This article is Bloor’s response to Mannheim’s (1936) Ideology and Utopia.