Conventionality of the social image of science and ideology of society

The article analyzes the concept of social image of science, and describes its structure. Conventionality of the social image of science and its transformation under the influence of scientific and external ideology are discussed. The authors shows that conventionality of the social image of science means perception of the importance and relevance of the concrete aspects of research activity in the context of its presentation for society by the collective representation of the disciplinary community. In the popular scientific journals of the beginning of the 20th century, one can see two conventional images of science: the educational image of science as a reveal of the ideology of scientific community and the practice-focused image of science corresponding with the problems of the state and social development.