ALTEX :: Alternatives to Animal Experiments

2000, VOLUME 2

Three arguments for Scientific Freedom

Kurt Bayertz

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität D-Münster

SUMMARY

The principle of scientific freedom usually is taken for granted; few attempts have been made to justify it systematically. The present paper discusses three "classic" arguments, which are used to justify this principle. It will become clear (a) that each argument refers to a different understanding of science and, therefore, justifies a different type of science; (b) that each of them involves presuppositions which do not always match the social reality of scientific research; the profound changes science has undergone since its inception are not sufficiently taken into account.

Keywords: scientific freedom, understanding of science, social reality