Collins' Sociology of Philosophies in the context of nature of science

In the twentieth century, three different approaches are developed in ongoing philosophical debates regarding the nature of science. As connected to the schools of Positivism, Relativism and Marxism these approaches have contributed to the formation of sociology of science traditions which investigate social dimensions of science. Using the acquisitions of these approaches to determine the nature of science as basis, in this research, the theory of conflict, as a new challenge for the ongoing debates in terms of the nature of science, will be examined. The book of Collins', the Sociology of Philosophies, contains basic concepts of the theory as well as the form of application to the Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. In addition, the positive and negative aspects of this study, in which the theory of conflict is presented as an applicable framework for the debates about the nature of science, will be presented in comparison with alternative approaches. Keywords:the nature of science, the philosophy of science, the sociology of science, the epistemology of science, the autonomy of science, locality, the theory of conflict, the theory of science, interaction rituals, stratification, cultural capital, emotional energy, networks, macro-structure, micro-structure.