Political Agency of Science as a Theme of Philosophy of Science

Abstract

Is the science capable to act as the subject of political action? This question is considered as one of themes of the modern philosophy of science. It could not be posed within the framework of the philosophy of science concentrated only on the analysis of logical structures of scientific knowledge or on problems of its dynamics defined by procedures of rational reconstruction of history of science. In this framework, influence of factors of a sociо-cultural context on the formal and substantive aspects of scientific processes was not a subject of the philosophical analysis. However, the internal logic in development of philosophy of science led to expansion of a circle of its interests. This circle included processes of interfluence of science and the cultural environment in its historical development. It affected sense of the major epistemic values: truth, objectivity, rationality. Their interpretation as variable dependent on a sociо-cultural context led to relativism which, in fact, devaluated the philosophical analysis of science. In attempts to counteract relativism the idea of political agency of science had to be rejected, which contradicted the obvious realities. The philosophy of science became in need of reform. Its initiator was historical and socio-cultural epistemology. The central thesis of reform is recognition of equal rights, continuity and interdependence of the principles of truth, ob­jectivity and historicism forming triple complementarity (by analogy with the well-known principle of N. Bohr). In the reformed philosophy of science political agency of science is a fact and a factor in the development of both the science itself, and the socio-cultural context.