Crafting Responsible Research Agendas in Science
APSE-CEU-IVC Talks
The Philosophy Department of the Central European University, the Institute Vienna Circle and the Unit for Applied Philosophy of Science and Epistemology (of the Department of Philosophy of the University of Vienna) are jointly organizing a series of talks this term
Date: 16/12/2021
Time: 15h00
Online Plattform: The meeting will be online via Zoom | Talks in Philosophy of Science and Epistemology PSE
Access:
https://univienna.zoom.us/j/95738643015?pwd=UFFsKzFxaHJVUEtWc1dPWEFrWmxyUT09
You can also log into our meetings through the Zoom application (rather than by clicking the link above), by using the following credentials:
Meeting-ID: 957 3864 3015
Password: 559398
No registered accounts are required, it's enough to click on the link and enter your name. Chrome or Firefox browsers work best.
Abstract:
For most of the 20th century, responsible research amounted to avoiding obvious research misconduct (e.g., data fabrication and falsification), treating human and animal subjects ethically, and ethical interaction with one’s scientific peers (e.g., publication and mentoring practices). The research agenda, what scientists chose to pursue, was not subject to ethical evaluation, with few exceptions (such as pursuing bioweapons research). With the recognition of dual-use research in the 21st century, senses of responsibility tied to the shaping of the research agenda have expanded. Further, with critiques of the linear model for science funding and of the basic vs. applied distinction that undergirds it, and with the increasing concern over the dominance of commercial funding in science, it is no longer plausible that in the ideal, the direction of the scientific attention should be solely based on scientific curiosity. Responsible research now includes consideration of what one is trying to achieve with one’s research and of how societal concerns should influence that agenda. Yet what should constitute this responsibility specifically and how in practice to assist scientists with meeting this responsibility remains unclear. This talk will explore this complex terrain and suggest pluralist answers, incuding academic institutional reforms, for how to craft a responsible research agenda.