Science Studies Goes Public: A Report on an Ongoing Performance

Spontaneous Generations 2 (1):11 (2008)
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Abstract

I believe that tenured historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science—when presented with the opportunity—have a professional obligation to get involved in public controversies over what should count as science. I stress ‘tenured’ because the involved academics need to be materially protected from the consequences of their involvement, given the amount of misrepresentation and abuse that is likely to follow, whatever position they take. Indeed, the institution of academic tenure justifies itself most clearly in such heat-seeking situations, where one may appear to offer a reasoned defense for views that many consider indefensible. To be sure, the opportunities for involvement will vary in kind and number, but I believe that we are obliged to embrace them. In the specific case of ‘demarcation’ questions of what counts as science, the people who possess the sort of general and comparative knowledge most relevant for adducing this matter are historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science—not professional scientists unschooled in these areas..

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Steve Fuller
University of Warwick

Citations of this work

Going Public: A Cautionary Tale.Michael Lynch - 2009 - Spontaneous Generations 3 (1):213-219.
Book Reviews: Dissent over dissent: reply to Richards.Steve Fuller - 2009 - History of the Human Sciences 22 (5):117-122.
The Dissent over Dissent over Descent.Steve Fuller - 2010 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 40 (3):479-503.

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