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 the relations 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 one’s own discipline, preferably reflecting on centuries of progress.

I believe the deeper a scientist gets into her career, it is increasingly important to incorporate philosophy into her self development and to understand its practical implications for the sociology 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 collective intelligence of a diverse community of practice.

Moreover, philosophy is indispensable in the trans-disciplinary science that is almost always necessary in translation of science into practice, in the connections between the laboratory and the broader world of scientific influence and demand.

We need philosophers like Dr. Stemwedel to be as visible as scientists who work on exotic problems that capture the imagination of the public. This will pave the way to a broader understanding of science by the public, to a real understanding of science as an engagement with the 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 at least partially accessible to everyone. We need help from articulate philosophers with an interest in science communication to help us bring the reality of science to the public, to bring science to life.

Gary E. Riccio, Ph.D., April 7 , 2014