Comparative Examination of Pierre Bourdieu's Sociology of Science and Actor-Network Theory

This paper is allocated to analyze the key concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of science and Actor- Network Theory. Through considering the concepts of field، capital، and symbolic capital، Bourdieu regards the circumstances of science production. He draw this strategy from his first argument on the competition between science supporters and claimants over capital. Through criticizing Actor- Network theory، which nullifies the distinctions between human and non human actors، he portrays a comprehensive picture of the new sociology of science’s irregularities. However، the actor-network theory accuses the Bourdieu ideas to have classical sociology of science’s defects. In this paper through a comparative examination of the two approaches’ theoretical dimensions from various aspects، we will specify their basic and conceptual distinctions.