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Pandemic science and commercial values: An institutional account of values in science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2023

Manuela Fernández Pinto Open the ORCID record for Manuela Fernández Pinto [Opens in a new window]
Manuela Fernández Pinto*
Affiliation:
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia African Centre for Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The different social institutions involved in the development and distribution of science and technology tend to promote, primarily, commercial and private interests, even in situations with high social stakes. Acknowledging how these interests interplay with social and epistemic values is fundamental for understanding the role of values in science today. To show this, I use the global pandemic and the race to develop and distribute vaccines against COVID-19 as an example. I argue that a mere circumstantial alignment of values across the social institutions of science is not enough and that instead we need a more substantive alignment.

Type
Symposia Paper
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 91 , Issue 5 , December 2024 , pp. 1139 - 1148
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association

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