Is Science Really Value Free and Objective?

Abstract

A traditional view in philosophy of science has it that the objectivity of science requires that science be value-free, governed only by epistemic standards. But the ideal of science as value-free has been shown to be untenable, not only because it is unrealistic to expect scientists to remain entirely impartial and unbiased, but because the ideal is epistemically and ethically undesirable. Arguments for the valueladenness of science thus problematize scientific objectivity. Some philosophers of science, persuaded that science cannot and should not be value-free, have attempted to articulate accounts of objectivity compatible with this result. While some of these attempts get at important norms for science, the concept of “objectivity” is at best an unhelpful way to express them. What is needed is to replace the emphasis on objectivity with an account of scientific integrity that outlines the epistemic and ethical responsibilities of scientists. Objectivity and the Value-Free Ideal Particle physicists must decide how much evidence to collect before announcing the discovery of a new particle like the Higgs Boson, balancing reasonable caution about premature or erroneous discovery claims against the value of a successful discovery claim (Staley 2017). Regulatory scientists assessing the potential toxicity of a chemical must determine thresholds of evidence