Theories of Science and Research 1. From Science to Research: A Historical Introduction Andrew Jamison

By way of introduction ...

Looking for an expression that could capture the change that has occurred in the last century and a half in the relation between science and society, I can find no better way than to say that we have shifted from Science to Research. Science is certainty; Research is uncertainty. Science is supposed to be cold, straight and detached; Research is warm, involving and risky. Science puts an end to the vagaries of human disputes; Research fuels controversies by more controversies. Science produces objectivity by escaping as much as possible from the shackles of ideology, passions and emotions; Research feeds on all of those as so many handles to render familiar new objects of enquiry .

Bruno Latour (in Science 1998)

What is science?

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A part of society (macro level)

• • •

economy, military state, civil society culture, everyday life

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Institutional systems (meso level)

• •

research, education and dissemination technological innovations, product development

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Forms of knowledge (micro level)

• • •

theoretical: academic disciplines practical: skills, competence ethical: values, assessment

The social functions of science

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Economic (natural and engineering sciences) ”useful knowledge” (Francis Bacon), artefacts

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Social-administrative (social sciences) ”positive knowledge” (August Comte), facts

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Cultural-spiritual (human sciences) ”enlightenment” (Immanuel Kant), ideas

Natural and engineering sciences

 forces of production, weapons of destruction  motors of economic growth and development  sources of competition and competitiveness  intellectual property and commodities

Uses of the social sciences

 sources of advice for policy making  a basis of administrative expertise and competence  elements of organizational management  tools for dealing with, or solving social problems

The humanities in society

 public education, or cultivation (

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,

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)  elements in ethical-political debates  sources of cultural, or ethnic identity  a basis for democratic theory and practice

Scientific institutions

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Research and educational systems



universities, academic institutions

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Innovation and business systems

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companies, commercial institutions

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Communication and dissemination systems

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journals, media(ting) institutions

The research system

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a tradition of ”academic community”

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relative autonomy, or independence

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internal procedures of accountability

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peer-review quality assessment

Systems of innovation

 business firms and commercial networks  dependence on sponsorship  external criteria of problem selection  economic forms of assessment

Forms of scientific knowledge

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Theoretical philosophical (episteme) ”know why”



explanation, logical, or deductive rationality

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Practical technical (techne) ”know how”

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understanding: instrumental, or inductive rationality

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Ethical political (fronesis) ”know what”

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reason: communicative, or moral rationality

Science as theory

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logical methods of argumentation

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abstract (cause-effect) rationality

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search for explanatory laws

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a realist, or factual notion of truth

Science as practice

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experimental methods of discovery

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instrumental (means-ends) rationality

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search for workable tools and instruments

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a constructivist, or artefactual notion of truth

Science as ethics

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reflective methods of judgment

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communicative (values-action) rationality

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search for reasonable ways of living

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a pragmatic, or social notion of truth

A Brief History of Science

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Ancient, or Traditional wisdom, up to about 1600

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spiritual knowledge, distinctive regional modes

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gap between theory (episteme) and practice (techne)

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Modern, or Western science, from about 1660 to 1980

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instrumental, rational, universal knowledge

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functional interdependence of science and technology

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Global, or Technoscience, from about 1980

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multiple forms of knowledge, commercial networks of innovation

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combinations of science and technology

What was science in ancient civilizations?

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As a part of society (macro level)

• • •

primarily used for purposes of conquest expert advice to imperial authorities separate cultures of ”wise men” and technicians

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Institutional systems (meso level)

•

largely informal education and research systems

•

linked to infrastructural maintenance and social control



Forms of knowledge (micro level)

• •

(theo)logical theories embodied, artisanal practical knowledge

•

personalized ethical-religious wisdom

What was science in the 17th century?

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As a part of society

• • •

providing ”intelligence” and expertise for monarchs oriented toward mining, navigation, warfare an emerging ideology for a new ”class”

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Institutional systems

• •

academies of science, state laboratories trade and commerce (e.g. East India companies)

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Forms of knowledge

• • •

analytical and mathematical theories experimental and observational practices utilitarian ethics (”the protestant ethic”)

What is (techno)science today?

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As a part of society

  

basic administrative tools direct productive – and destructive - force dominant ideology, or cultural belief system

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Institutional systems

 

integration of research and education: ”higher education” symbiosis of technology and science: ”systems of innovation”

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Forms of knowledge

  

complex and diverse theories hybrid, collaborative forms of practice ethical relativism and pluralism

An Age of Technoscience

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blurring discursive boundaries

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between science (episteme) and technology (techne)

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breaking down institutional borders

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between public and private, economic and academic

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mixing skills and knowledge

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across faculties, disciplines, and societal domains

Theories of Science and Research 2. The Emergence of Western Science Andrew Jamison

The Making of Modern Science

From the Reformation… to the “scientific revolution” reform of society visionary, utopian decentralized organization technical improvements informal communication reform of philosophy realistic, pragmatic (central) academy scientific development formal publications

The Economic Story-Line

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The agricultural revolution, ca 600-900

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The urban migration and growth of towns

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The industrial revolution of the 12th century

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Exploration and international trade

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Mining and the rise of capitalism

From Arnold Pacey, The Maze of Ingenuity

The Cultural Story Line

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A religion of the book, a supernatural God

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Separation of nature and humanity

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Monasticism and labor discipline

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The rediscovery of ancient wisdom

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A magical belief-system and sense of wonder

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The hybrid imagination of the Renaissance

The ”Cathedral Crusade”

The influence of technology

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Agricultural innovations (heavy plough)

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Military innovations (guns and sails)

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Regulation of time (mechanical clocks)

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The Asian connection (compass, windmills)

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Invention of printing

Johan Gutenberg and his Bible

”Like any other extension of man, typography had psychic and social consequences that suddenly shifted previous boundaries and patterns of culture.” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media (1964: 186)

Modern Science as Cultural Appropriation

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At the discursive level:

•

A mechanical philosophy, or world-view

•

A language of mathematics

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At the institutional level:

•

Media of communication

•

Academic organizations

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At the practical level:

•

Technical applications

•

Experiments, instruments and methods

At the discursive level...

Francis Bacon (1561-1626): ”Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be produced. Nature to be commanded must be obeyed...”

At the institutional level...

Gresham College in London, where the Royal Society first met in 1660 – and where the first scientific ”journal” was published in 1666

At the practical level...

Robert Boyle and his air pump Robert Hooke and his microscope

Modern Scientific Knowledge

Instrumental Experimental Systematic Reductionist Objectifying Futuristic Quantitative

”a rationality of means” (Weber) ”logic of discovery” (Popper) ”the order of things” (Foucault) ”one-dimensional thought” (Marcuse) ”the death of nature” (Merchant) ”the myth of progress” (von Wright) ”the measure of reality” (Crosby)

Modern Science as Hubris

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scientism, or scientific rationalism:

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science as a new (secular) religion

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positivism, or logical empiricism:

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science as superior to other ways of knowing

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universalism, or cultural imperialism:

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Western science as valid everywhere

Modern Science as Hybrids

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Hybrid identities:

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artist-engineers (e.g. Leonardo da Vinci)

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scholar-craftsmen (e.g. Tycho Brahe)

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Connecting episteme (theory) and techne (practice)

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An experimental culture, or way of life

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Meeting place between thinking and doing

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Mixing ideas and action

The hybrid imagination 1

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The ”Renaissance Men”: Leonardo and co.

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Artists and engineers in combination

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Humanism combined with magic

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Leads to the invention of experimentation

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A kind of collective creativity

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A new vision of humanity: homo faber, man the maker

Leonardo da Vinci: The artist-engineer

The hybrid imagination 2

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Scholars and craftsmen in combination

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e.g. Paracelsus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo, Huygens

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Inspired by Luther and ”Protestant Ethic”

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Connected theory to observation

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Leads to the invention of modern science

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A new vision for humanity: secular enlightenment

Tycho Brahe: The scholar craftsman

his telescopic equipment Christiaan Huygens 1629-1695 ”The world is my country, Science is my religion” His pendulum clock

...and onto the enlightenment: Denis Diderot and his encyclopedia