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Fellows

Martin Carrier

Professor
University of Bielefeld, Germany
Commercialization and Politicization of Science
15 October 2011 - 31 January 2012
History, philosophy and sociology of science
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is Professor of Philosophy at Bielefeld University and Member of the Institute of Science and Technology Studies (IWT). His chief area of work is the philosophy of science, in particular, historical changes in science and scientific method, theory-ladenness and empirical testability, intertheoretical relations and reductionism, and currently methodological issues of application-oriented research. He addresses methodological changes imposed on science by the pressure of practice. Dr Carrier is a member of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina, the Mainz Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Literature, and the Academia Europaea. He was awarded the Leibniz Prize by the German Research Association (DFG) for 2008. His recent publications include Nikolaus Kopernikus, 2001; Wissenschaftstheorie: Zur Einführung (Introduction to the Philosophy of Science), 2006, rev. 2008; and Raum-Zeit (Space-Time), 2009.

Two kinds of worries are associated with the politicization and the commercialization of science. These worries concern, first, the nature of the research agenda, and, second, the test and confirmation procedures in science. In both respects, moral as well as epistemological misgivings are brought to bear. Modes of problem selection are criticized on moral grounds by claiming that questions of short-term benefit are emphasized in politicized and commercialized research, while issues that are essential for large parts of humankind are neglected. In methodological respect, one of the relevant arguments is that the dominance of non-epistemic interests tends to induce superficiality and one-sidedness in the process of empirical scrutiny which undermine the high standards of confirmation traditionally associated with science. In the project, these two sorts of worries are intended to be pursued and their import on science assessed.

 

11 Jan 2012 18:00 -
11 Jan 2012 20:00,
Paris :
Scientific Knowledge and Scientific Expertise: Epistemic and Social Conditions of their Trustworthiness
13 Dec 2011 14:00 -
13 Dec 2011 17:00,
Paris :
Agnotology: Scientific Knowledge, Ignorance, Commercialization
15 Nov 2011 00:00 -
15 Nov 2011 00:00,
Paris :
Historical Epistemology: On the Diversity and Change of Epistemic Values in Science
03 Nov 2011 09:00 -
04 Nov 2011 16:30,
Paris :
The Plurality of Numerical Methods in Computer Simulations and their Philosophical Analysis
285
2011-2012
Contemporary period (1789-…)
martin.carrier@uni-bielefeld.de