Value-free Science? by Robert N. Proctor

by Robert N. Proctor

Why have scientists shied away from politics, or defended their work as value free? How has the ideal of neutrality come to dominate the world of science? These are some of the central questions that Robert Proctor addresses in his study of the politics of modern science.Value-Free Science? emphasizes the importance of understanding the political origins and impact of scientific ideas. Proctor lucidly demonstrates how value-neutrality is a reaction to larger political developments, including the use of science by government and industry, the specialization of professional disciplines, and the efforts to stifle intellectual freedoms or to politicize the world of the academy.The first part of the book traces the origins of value-neutrality prior to the eighteenth century. Plato and Aristotle saw contemplative thought as superior to practical action, and this separation of theory and practice is still invoked today in defense of "neutral science." In the seventeenth century the Baconian search for useful knowledge allowed a new and closer tie between theory and practice, but it also isolated moral knowledge from natural philosophy. Another version of neutrality was introduced by the mechanical conception of the universe, in which the idea of a benevolent, human-centered cosmos was replaced with a "devalorized" view of nature.The central part of the book explores the exclusion of politics and morals with the emergence of the social sciences. Proctor highlights the case of Germany, where the ideal of value-neutrality was first articulated in modern form by social scientists seeking to attack or defend Marxism, feminism, and other social movements. He traces the rise and fall of positivist ethical and economic theory, showing that arguments for value-free science often mask concrete political maneuvers. Finally, he reviews critiques of science that have been voiced in recent debates over critical issues in agricultural science, military research, health and medicine, and biological determinism.This provocative book will interest anyone seeking ways to reconcile the ideals of scientific freedom and social responsibility.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Education

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

American historian of science and Professor of the History of Science at Stanford University.While a professor of the history of science at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999, he became the first historian to testify against the tobacco industry.

Reviews

[Valentin Roussarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether science may be value-free is an eternal question, raised by Max Weber's concept of Werturteilfreiheit. Robert Proctor shows how this quest for neutrality and objectivity in science emerged and was pursued over the last centuries. In particular, the emergence of German universities under the Bismarck authoritarian regime has led freedom from value judgements to be a shield from government censorship. On the other hand, it was a sword to confront the Church's desire to edict what science ought to be.
Another very interesting feature of the book is the distinction between neutrality (not taking any stance) and objectivity (argumentative rigor, accuracy). In that sense, not being neutral is not a problem per se whenever one sticks to the facts and does not change reality to fit one's opinions.