Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!amdahl!uunet!mcvax!ukc!warwick!rlvd!mdw
From: mdw@inf.rl.ac.uk (Mike Wilson)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: "Science" in cognitive science
Message-ID: <3467@rlvd.UUCP>
Date: 12 Aug 88 14:38:56 GMT
Reply-To: mdw@inf.rl.ac.uk ()
Organization: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot. UK.
Lines: 48


Whether Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Information Science,
Domestic Science, Sociology, Astrology, or Scientology and sciences due to 
their degree of use of empirical methods, their discoveries, because one
learned body or another recognises them, or by other criteria has always 
been an interesting question.

Whether they become engineering subjects when taught, researched or 
practised is a variation on the theme. 

A second set of questions include: what was intended to be conveyed to the 
users/hearers of the terms when they were coined; why were those 
particular terms coined; what does it tell use about the coiners; what does
it tell us about their views/expectations of the audience/hearers.

If the terms contain the word "Science" did those who coined them
intend them to "be" sciences, or merely intend the audience to
"believe" they were. In either case, is the view of the audience held by
the coiners one which considers that they will not have a strong enough view 
of what "Science" is to work out for themselves whether the fields are 
sciences or not. 

If the morpheme "-ology" is used the same argument exists with the 
addition of assumptions about the classical education of the audience
and coiners.

If the term "engineering" is used in the label, is it used to contrast
with other fields labelled or considered by the audience to be "scientific" 
or is it used to sell the field to a new audience.

In some older universities (Bologne, Oxford etc..) graduates in the areas 
refered to as Sciences (physics, chemistry etc ..) recieve arts degrees 
since they are only a style of philosophy (in these institutions science 
degrees are only given as either higher doctorates or as recently introduced
consolation prizes at earlier stages).

Don Norman is one of those whom I would suggest as being responsible 
for coining and publicising the current usages of both the terms 
Cognitive Science and Cognitive Engineering which are used in this
mail community. 

In Europe other terms are used (at least in addition to these if not 
excusively) such as "Informatics" and "Cognitive Ergonomics". Did the people 
that coined these have a different view of their audience ?

Do not the labels used for the fields tell us far more about the views 
the coiners of these terms have about themselves and their audience
than about the subjects themselves?