[MD] Science and Values

[Ian Glendinning]

Arlo,

Looks excellent based on the intro, must read the whole thing.

I particularly like this ...
"The popular conceptions--both that science is value-free and that
objectivity is best exemplified by scientific fact--are overstated and
misleading. This does not oblige us, however, to abandon science or
objectivity, or to embrace an uneasy relativism. First, science does
express a wealth of epistemic values and inevitably incorporates
cultural values in practice ...."

Thanks for the link.
Ian

On 8/4/08, Arlo Bensinger <ajb102 at psu.edu> wrote:
> All,
>
> Stumbled on an interesting paper. "Values in Science" by Douglas Allchin.
> This struck some MOQ chords with me.
>
> http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ethics/values.htm
>
> "ABSTRACT. Values intersect with science in three primary ways. First, there
> are values, particularly epistemic values, which guide scientific research
> itself. Second, the scientific enterprise is always embedded in some
> particular culture and values enter science through its individual
> practitioners, whether consciously or not. Finally, values emerge from
> science, both as a product and process, and may be redistributed more
> broadly in the culture or society. Also, scientific discoveries may pose new
> social challenges about values, though the values themselves may be
> conventional. Several questions help guide disciplined inquiry into ethics
> and values."
>
> Below is the short introduction, the article is also concise for those
> wishing a short but enjoyable read.
>
> "A fundamental feature of science, as conceived by most scientists, is that
> it deals with facts, not values. Further, science is objective, while values
> are not. These benchmarks can offer great comfort to scientists, who often
> see themselves as working in the privileged domain of certain and permanent
> knowledge. Such views of science are also closely allied in the public
> sphere with the authority of scientists and the powerful imprimatur of
> evidence as "scientific". Recently, however, sociologists of science, among
> others, have challenged the notion of science as value-free and thereby
> raised questions--especially important for emerging scientists--about the
> authority of science and its methods.
>
> The popular conceptions--both that science is value-free and that
> objectivity is best exemplified by scientific fact--are overstated and
> misleading. This does not oblige us, however, to abandon science or
> objectivity, or to embrace an uneasy relativism. First, science does express
> a wealth of epistemic values and inevitably incorporates cultural values in
> practice. But this need not be a threat: some values in science govern how
> we regulate the potentially biasing effect of other values in producing
> reliable knowledge. Indeed, a diversity of values promotes more robust
> knowledge where they intersect. Second, values can be equally objective when
> they require communal justification and must thereby be based on generally
> accepted principles. In what follows, I survey broadly the relation of
> science and values, sample important recent findings in the history,
> philosophy and sociology of science, and suggest generally how to address
> these issues (this essay is adapted from Allchin, 1998)."
>
> Arlo
>
> Moq_Discuss mailing list
> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
> Archives:
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
>