Jungert M, Böttcher J, Merdes C, Schuol S, Leefmann J (2021)
Publication Type: Edited Volume
Subtype: Special issue of a journal
Publication year: 2021
Publisher: Frontiers
Open Access Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/11981/public-research-and-private-knowledge---science-in-times-of-diverse-research-funding
The production and distribution of knowledge is a key process in
scientific and scholarly inquiry. However, this process is not and has
never been limited to universities and public research institutes alone,
but extends to agents as diverse as the Research & Development
Departments of companies, citizen scientists, and private non-profit
research institutes. In recent years, these agents have shown an
increased interest in basic ˗ as opposed to applied ˗ science, for
example in fields of rising social significance such as AI or biomedical
technology. These specific research interests in turn direct attention
to the sources of funding, and, as a consequence, to the direction of
inquiry and the accessibility of results. The main problem that arises
from this development can be expressed in two questions: First, does the
influence of private funding change the selection of research topics in
an epistemically or otherwise (un-) desirable direction? And second,
does it lead to a privatization of knowledge, and if so, what are the
consequences of this privatization? Some key questions in this area of
investigation are:
• Where do new sources of research funding
come from, and how important a role do they play? Which agents foster
the development, which methods do they use, and what are their primary
motivations?
• What are the epistemic consequences, and who is
affected by them? What is the impact of business interests on epistemic
norms and ideals, and are there any (additional) sources of bias to be
expected?
• Have there been any (changes of) institutional
structures in the last decades that have stimulated or hindered these
tendencies? Which historical idea of science is at stake? Which factors
affected the practices of organizing the production and distribution of
scientific knowledge during the second half of the 20th century?
•
Is academic freedom threatened by these developments, and if so, to
what extent? How could it be maintained? What are the epistemic effects
of endowment chairs and industry-sponsored PhD projects?
APA:
Jungert, M., Böttcher, J., Merdes, C., Schuol, S., & Leefmann, J. (Eds.) (2021). Public Research and Private Knowledge – Science in Times of Diverse Research Funding. Frontiers.
MLA:
Jungert, Michael, et al, eds. Public Research and Private Knowledge – Science in Times of Diverse Research Funding. Frontiers, 2021.
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