The Governance of Science: Ideology and the Future of the Open Society (Issues in Society)

Fuller (sociology, U. of Warwick, UK) explores the institutions and ideologies surrounding the practice of science in the western world. Liberal, communitarian, and republican analyses of the proper activity of science are examined and the effects of the increasing hegemony over the scientific sphere by business and government are explored. Fuller argues for a republican ideal of science that places the realm back in universities disconnected from special interests. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Front cover 1 Half title 2 Title 4 copyright 5 Contents 6 Series editor's foreword 10 Introduction 14 Part one: The political and material conditions of scientific inquiry 18 1 Science as the open society and its ideological deformations 20 Introduction: the artifice of science as the open society 20 Republicanism as the political philosophy of an open science 24 The elusive material basis of republicanism 28 The slippery slope from republicanism to liberalism 32 Research ethics as the liberal ideology of scientific governance 35 The cardinal republican strategy: shoring up the commons by taxing social inheritance 38 2 The role of scale in the scope of scientific governance 41 The ideal of the experimenting society 41 Hegel's revenge on the ideal 44 What would it mean for science to have outgrown knowledge as its aim? 47 The ungovernability of Big Democracy and Big Science: of Rousseau and Feyerabend 51 Inadequate philosophical solutions to the problems of Big Science 55 An inadequate educational solution: science literacy 58 Part two: The university as a site for the governance of science 60 3 The historical interdependence of the university and knowledge production 62 The elusive social value of the university: can't live with it, can't live without it 62 In what sense might the university's grip on knowledge production be slipping? 64 Academia through the ages: from cloistered philosophers to besieged administrators 67 The Reformation and the Enlightenment as the original anti-university movements 71 4 Multiculturalism's challenge to academic integrity -or a tale of two churches 75 The modern salvaging of the university: the pre-history of multiculturahsm 75 Multiculturalism's shattering of the university's Enlightenment legacy 78 What women's ways of knowing have to do with women - and other embarrassing issues for multiculturalists 82 5 The university as capitalism's final frontier - or the fading hope for Enlightenment in a complex world 88 The university's search for a republican identity: Enlightenment lost 88 Complexity as post-Enlightenment academic ideology 91 Science without vocation in the 'knowledge society' 94 'I am cited, therefore I am': the politics of recognition in the modern academy 98 Science's 'economy of scale' as the ideology of self-sacrifice 102 Evolutionism as the mask of decline in a complex world 105 Part three: The secularization of science and a new deal for science policy 110 6 Sociology as both sanctifier and secularizer of science 112 Science: from subject to object of secularization 112 Remapping science's sacred space in contemporary America 115 Secularizing the legitimatory function of the history of science 121 Secularizaton as university policy: towards a new asceticism? 125 7 The road not taken: revisiting the original New Deal 130 The original rise and fall of New Deal science policy 130 Time for a renewed New Deal? The deskilling and casualization of academic labour 135 Economic competitiveness as the continuation of Cold War science policy by other means 140 8 Elements for a new constitution of science 144 Introduction: the two models of constitutionalism 144 Representing science: from trickle-down effects to workplace politics 145 Three strategies for democratizing science 148 A sample proposal for constituting science as a democratic polity 159 Conclusion: is there an unlimited right to be wrong? 164 References 169 Index 178 Back cover 186 This Ground-breaking Text Offers A Fresh Perspective On The Governance Of Science From The Standpoint Of Social And Political Theory. Science Has Often Been Seen As The Only Institution That Embodies The Elusive Democratic Ideal Of The 'open Society'. Yet, Science Remains An Elite Activity That Commands Much More Public Trust Than Understanding, Even Though Science Has Become Increasingly Entangled With Larger Political And Economic Issues. Fuller Proceeds By Rejecting Liberal And Communitarian Ideologies Of Science, In Favour Of A 'republican' Approach Centred On 'the Right To Be Wrong'. He Shows How The Recent Sealing Up Of Scientific Activity Has Undermined The Republican Ideal. The Centerpiece Of The Book, A Social History Of The Struggle To Render The University A 'republic Of Science', Focuses On The Potential Challenges Posed By Multiculturalism And Capitalism. Finally, Drawing On The Science Policy Of The Us New Deal, Fuller Proposes Nothing Short Of A New Social Contract For 'secularizing' Science.--jacket. Science As The Open Society And Its Ideological Deformations -- Role Of Scale In The Scope Of Scientific Governance -- Historical Interdependence Of The University And Knowledge Production -- Multiculturalism's Challenge To Academic Integrity: Or A Tale Of Two Churches -- University As Capitalism's Final Frontier: Or The Fading Hope For Enlightenment In A Complex World -- Sociology As Both Sanctifier And Secularizer Of Science -- Road Not Taken: Revisiting The Original New Deal -- Elements For A New Constitution Of Science. Steve Fuller. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [156]-164) And Index. What does social and political theory have to say about the role of science in society? Do scientists and other professional enquirers have an unlimited 'right to be wrong'? What are the implications of capitalism and multiculturalism for the future of the university? This ground-breaking text offers a fresh perspective on the governance of science from the standpoint of social and political theory. Science has often been seen as the only institution that embodies the elusive democratic ideal of the 'open society'. Yet, science remains an elite activity that commands much more public trust than understanding, even though science has become increasingly entangled with larger political and economic issues. Fuller proceeds by rejecting liberal and communitarian ideologies of science, in favor of a 'republican' approach centred on 'the right to be wrong'. He shows how the recent scaling up of scientific activity has undermined the republican ideal. The centrepiece of the book, a social history of the struggle to render the university a 'republic of science' focuses on the potential challenges posed by multiculturalism and capitalism. Finally, drawing on the science policy of the US New Deal, Fuller proposes nothing short of a new social contract for 'secularizing' science Most of the debilitating effects of political regimes come from people feeling they cannot either admit their own errors or reveal the errors of others - that is, unless the errors are minor ones.