8/12/2019 Scientific Values and Development
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Scientific Values and Development
The uncomfortable relations between philosophy and science
This in response to a blog post by Janet D. Stemwedel that has
direct implications for therelations between (trans-disciplinary)
science and business.
I agree that the philosophy and sociology of science generally
will undo a young scientist,certainly a graduate student, as with
the parable of the centipede. A good start in graduate
school,however, is to become conversant with the history of ones
own discipline, preferably reflectingon centuries of progress.
I believe the deeper a scientist gets into her career, it is
increasingly important to incorporatephilosophy into her self
development and to understand its practical implications for
thesociology of peer interactions with a community of science.
Philosophy, as an aid to meta-cognitive reflection, can help us
understand our own biases and,
without eliminating them, it can help us utilize these biases
productively in the collectiveintelligence of a diverse community
of practice.
Moreover, philosophy is indispensable in the trans-disciplinary
science that is almost alwaysnecessary in translation of science
into practice, in the connections between the laboratory and
thebroader world of scientific influence and demand.
We need philosophers like Dr. Stemwedel to be as visible as
scientists who work on exoticproblems that capture the imagination
of the public. This will pave the way to a broaderunderstanding of
science by the public, to a real understanding of science as an
engagement withthe quotidian and discovery of the wonder in it.
Science educates the attention. It is a way of life, a way of
being present in the world, that is atleast partially accessible to
everyone. We need help from articulate philosophers with an
interestin science communication to help us bring the reality of
science to the public, to bring science tolife.
Gary E. Riccio, Ph.D. (April 2014)
