Sensitization: reciprocity and reflection in scientific practice Science & Society Series on Convergence Research

摘要

Bob Dylan sang that "the times, they are a-changin'" with reference to the profound social upheaval of the 1960s in the USA and Western Europe; but he could just as easily have been referring to the changes in the perception and conduct of scientific research in that period. Before and throughout the Second World War, sci_ence was regarded to be a somewhat dis_connected, exclusive activity. Scientists, so the thinking went, would be most success_ful if protected from the influence of social demands. However, the increasing impact of scientific discoveries on society_for example, the invention of nuclear weapons, the arms race with the Soviet Union and the perceived dangers of genetic engineering_profoundly changed this attitude and, with it, the role of science in and for society.