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Chuck,

Granted that scientists inevitably bring bias to their work --  yet  
isn't the goal of their effort to see only the evidence and recant a   
hypotheses when it is disproved?  Science, then to me seems the  
antidote  to bias.  But the "differing value" you mention have me  
worried - what might they be? A can of worms, or a box of Pandora's,  
for sure.  Don't Creationists  and climate change deniers ask for "the  
opportunity to challenge ... another's work" based not on evidence but  
on differing values?

Tom Nielsen
The Exhibit Guys


On Jun 10, 2009, at 12:36 PM, Chuck Howarth wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Adding to Jeff's comments, many if not most of Stephen Jay Gould's  
> essays address cultural biases in science.  For example, 19th  
> century scientists spent a good bit of time documenting the ways in  
> which, in their view, some races were superior to others.  They  
> brought that racist perspective with them to their science, and it  
> guided their work.  Gould cites many other similar examples from  
> many different periods of history.
>
> Do scientists today bring biases to their  work?  Of course!  But  
> other scientists with differing values and biases have the  
> opportunity to challenge them.   Which suggests that science works  
> best when people of all cultures and both genders participate and  
> have the opportunity to challenge one another's work.
>
>>
>>
>> Wayne, you write:
>>
>> "That is, science does not have a cultural basis."
>>
>> I'm wondering if we're not confusing phenomena with the practice of  
>> science.  I would suggest science clearly has a cultural basis.   
>> Without such a foundation, there would have been no development of  
>> an expert culture, of words, of symbols, of methodology, etc.  The  
>> phrase "Natural Philosophy," at least as it pertains to the history  
>> of euro-centric science, comes to mind.  Science and culture have  
>> always been mixed - cultural perspective has time and again limited  
>> the vision of practicing scientists.
>>
>> ***********************************************************************
> Chuck Howarth
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