Science Transformed?: Debating Claims of an Epochal Break

"This is a book to like for its bold discussion technique . . . a large and well-executed project." --International Studies in the Philosophy of Science "Has science changed fundamentally during the last half century? Ready-made concepts abound that claim as much: from post-normal and technoscience to the advent of a mode-2. Few are substantiated empirically. This collection does just that: probing the theses of an epochal break from a range of disciplinary vantage points, unveiling the complexity behind the fashionable rhetoric, providing fascinating insights into the new ways of research." --Peter Weingart, Bielefeld University "Science Transformed? is an important, readily accessible book that focuses on a crucial contemporary issue: the profound transformation of science, technology, and society of the past few decades. We are witnessing a break of an 'epochal nature' and Nordmann, Radder, and Schiemann have provided us with valuable insights into what is happening." --Silvan Schweber, Brandeis University

Advancements in computer algorithms, robotics, digital imaging, and digital modelling have changed science into a technology-driven institution. Government, industry, and society increasingly exert their influence over science, raising questions of values and objectivity. These and other profound changes have led many to speculate that we are in the midst of an epochal break in scientific history. This volume presents an in-depth examination of these issues from philosophical, historical, social, and cultural perspectives. It offers arguments both for and against the epochal break thesis in light of historical antecedents. Contributors discuss topics such as: science as a continuing epistemological enterprise; the decline of the individual scientist and the rise of communities; the intertwining of science and technological needs; links to prior discoveries and ways of thinking; the alleged divide between mode-1 and mode-2 research methods; and the shift from scientific to technological enterprise. Additionally, they examine the epochal break thesis using specific examples, including the transition from laboratory to real world experiments; the increased reliance on computer imaging; how analogue and digital technologies condition behaviours that shape the object and beholder; the cultural impact of humanoid robots; the erosion of scientific quality in experimentation; and the effect of computers on prediction at the expense of theorisation. whether these events represent a historic break in scientific theory, practice, and methodology is inconclusive. What they do offer is an important forum for philosophical analysis of the institutional and moral questions affecting current and future scientific pursuits.