The Commodification of Academic Research: Science and the Modern University - Tapa dura

"This volume offers a very balanced, thorough, accessible treatment of an unsettling topic--the current large-scale economic shaping of academic scientific research. Of first-rate importance to scientists and philosophers of science as well as those in the wider science studies and science policy communities, it will prove eye-opening as well to graduate and even undergraduate students in a variety of courses." --Janet A. Kourany, University of Notre Dame.

Selling science has become a common practice in contemporary universities. This commodification of academia pervades many aspects of higher education, including research, teaching, and administration. As such, it raises significant philosophical, political, and moral challenges. This volume offers the first book-length analysis of this disturbing trend from a philosophical perspective and presents views by scholars of philosophy of science, social and political philosophy, and research ethics. The epistemic and moral responsibilities of universities, whether for-profit or non-profit, are examined from several philosophical standpoints. The contributors discuss the pertinent epistemological and methodological questions, the sociopolitical issues of the organisation of science, the tensions between commodified practices and the ideal of "science for the public good," and the role of governmental regulation and personal ethical behavior. In order to counter coercive and corruptive influences of academic commodification, the contributors consider alternatives to commodified research and offer practical recommendations for establishing appropriate research standards, methodologies and institutional arrangements, and a corresponding normative ethos.