The human and social sciences in interdisciplinary biotechnology research: Trojan horses or useful idiots?

Bjørn Myskja; Reidun Heggem

The human and social sciences in interdisciplinary biotechnology research: Trojan horses or useful idiots?

In: Ethics and the politics of food

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Bjørn Myskja

Bjørn Myskja Department of Philosophy, NTNU Trondheim, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway, bjorn.myskja@hf.ntnu.no

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Reidun Heggem

Reidun Heggem Department of Philosophy, NTNU Trondheim, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway, bjorn.myskja@hf.ntnu.no

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 138–142

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086865758_023

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Projects where social scientists and ethicists participate in interdisciplinary biotechnology research has increased recently. The intention has been to ensure a case-based critical and informed view on the project and the technology in general. Biotechnologists may have different reasons for accepting and inviting this external participation: (1) a genuine concern for the ethical and social acceptability of the project, (2) a belief that even if they find the project acceptable, there are reasonable grounds for disagreement, or (3) a strategic intention to accommodate public opinion, as a way to legitimize this application of the technology. The first two objectives are in keeping with the motivations usually given by the external participants and the political bodies that support interdisciplinary approaches to controversial technologies. The third reason implies that social scientists and ethicists are mere means to ensure public acceptance. The external participants become “useful idiots”, just to legitimize the positions of the core scientists and may draw the attention away from social and ethical issues that can better be analysed independently of particular applications of the technology. On the other hand, the social scientists and ethicists may serve as Trojan horses eroding the trust in products due to myopic negative analyses, as argued by some biotechnology proponents. The presentation explores possible advantages and disadvantages of interdisciplinary research, and argues for a combined approach where social scientists and ethicists alternate between participation in interdisciplinary research and doing independent analyses to ensure technological insight as well as critical distance.

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Ethics and the politics of food

Preprints of the 6th Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086865758

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 10 Oct 2006

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- Life Sciences

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The human and social sciences in interdisciplinary biotechnology research: Trojan horses or useful idiots?

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Ethics and the politics of food

Preprints of the 6th Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics

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