Las ciencias y las técnicas han formado parte, desde el principio de la civilización, del desarrollo de la sociedad. Los cambios que han caracterizado las diferentes etapas del pensamiento científico se han producido dentro del marco de determinadas formaciones sociales y en condiciones específicas de producción del conocimiento. En este libro se aborda la manera en que se relacionan ciencia y sociedad: las formas de valorización social de las investigaciones, el sistema de trabajo en el interior de los laboratorios, las razones ideológicas de las teorías científicas, los mecanismos de financiación de la indagaciones científicas, las luchas jerárquicas entre los sabios y académicos, etc. Un conjunto de problemas que están más que nunca implicados en nuestros grandes problemas sociales. La explosión de las nanotecnologías, la controversia sobre los OGM, el cambio climático, etc., tantas temáticas cuya comprensión y control implican también conocer mejor las dinámicas sociales que forman parte de la producción de conocimientos y de las innovaciones. La presente obra, refundición de Sociología de las ciencias, publicada en 1995, muestra un planteamiento completo de todos estos problemas, con numerosos ejemplos y una muy amplia documentación. Presenta las diferentes formas de articulación ciencia/sociedad (emergencia de las ciencias, dinámica de innovación y democracia técnica) y los principales mecanismos sociales que hacen vivir a las ciencias (instituciones, organizaciones, intercambios entre investigadores, elaboración de contenidos, etc.). Este libro permite aprehender tanto la cultura material y cognitiva de un laboratorio como el funcionamiento del mercado de empleo científico. Más allá de la referencia a los grandes autores, corrientes de pensamiento y debates, ayuda a comprender mejor qué la sociedad y aquellas personas que tiene el poder decisorio fuerzan el desarrollo de las ciencias y de las técnicas, y qué los artesanos de estas últimas imponen a cambio sus lógicas propias. Habla así sobre la sociología de "la sociedad de los conocimientos”.

Desde la perspectiva sociológica, el concepto de tecnología no puede referirse únicamente a los objetos técnicos, sino también a los procesos sociales y culturales que involucra. La sociocibernética y la teoría de sistemas plantean un marco conceptual esencial para el necesario debate sobre el papel de la tecnología en la configuración de la complejidad social. La tecnología permite al sistema social gestionar la complejidad social. La tecnología permite al sistema social gestionar la complejidad de su entorno a la vez que, por otra parte, contribuye a incrementar y diversificar la naturaleza compleja de las interdependencias entre la sociedad y los actores individuales. Simultáneamente, la creciente complejidad social demanda nuevas formas tecnológicas que permitan gestionarla. En suma, la tecnología se halla en la base de cualquier discusión relevante sobre la naturaleza contemporánea de la sociedad, ya sea del lado de los problemas (riesgo, control, y vigilancia global, bioética y bioingeniería, manipulación mediática, ecológica etc.) o del lado de las soluciones (comunicaciones instantáneas, ubicuidad y movilidad, accesibilidad, disponibilidad de conocimiento, etc.).

The emphasis on the realm of Science, Technology and Society or Science and Technology Studies may have the same degree of relevance that the “historical turn” had in the past. It is a “social turn” which affects philosophy of science as well as philosophy of technology. It includes a new vision of the aims, processes and results of scientific activities and technological doings, because the focus of attention is on several aspects of science and technology which used to be considered as secondary, or even irrelevant. This turn highlights science and technology as social undertakings rather than intellectual contents. According to this new vision, there are several important changes as to what should be studied the objects of research, how it should be studied the method and what the consequences for those studies are. The new focus of attention can be seen in many changes, and among them are several of special interest: a) from what science and technology are in themselves (mainly, epistemic contents) to how science and technology are made (largely, social constructions); b) from the language and structure of basic science to the characteristics of applied science and the applications of science; c) from technology as a feature through which human beings control their natural surroundings (a step beyond “technics” due to the contribution of science) to technology as a social practice and an instrument of power; and d) from the role of internal values necessary for “mature science” and “innovative technology” to the role of contextual or external values (cultural, political, economic ...) of science and technology. Wenceslao J. Gonzalez is professor of logic and philosophy of science at the University of A Coruña (Spain). He has been vicedean of the School of Humanities and president of the Committee of Doctoral Programs at the University. He has been a visting researcher at the Universities of St. Andrews, Münster and London (London School of Economics), as well as Visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh. He has given lectures at the Universities of Pittsburgh, Stanford, Quebec and Helsinki. The conferences in which he has participated include those organized by the Universities of Uppsala, New South Wales, Bologne and Canterbury (New Zealand). He has edited 20 volumes and published 70 papers. He is the editor of the monographic issues on Philosophy and Methodology of Economics (1998) and Lakatos’s Philosophy Today (2001). His writings include “Economic Prediction and Human Activity. An Analysis of Prediction in Economics from Action Theory” (1994), “On the Theoretical Basis of Prediction in Economics” (1996), “Rationality in Economics and Scientific Predictions: A Critical Reconstruction of Bounded Rationality and its Role in Economic Predictions” (1997), “Lakatos’s Approach on Prediction and Novel Facts” (2001), “Rationality in Experimental Economics: An Analysis of R. Selten’s Approach” (2003), “From ErklärenVerstehen to PredictionUnderstanding: The Methodological Framework in Economics” (2003), and “The Many Faces of Popper’s Methodological Approach to Prediction” (2004).

This encyclopedia considers both the professional ethics of science and technology, and the social, ethical, and political issues raised by science and technology.

Studies challenging the idea that technology and science flow only from global North to South. The essays in this volume study the creation, adaptation, and use of science and technology in Latin America. They challenge the view that scientific ideas and technology travel unchanged from the global North to the global South—the view of technology as “imported magic.” They describe not only alternate pathways for innovation, invention, and discovery but also how ideas and technologies circulate in Latin American contexts and transnationally. The contributors' explorations of these issues, and their examination of specific Latin American experiences with science and technology, offer a broader, more nuanced understanding of how science, technology, politics, and power interact in the past and present. The essays in this book use methods from history and the social sciences to investigate forms of local creation and use of technologies; the circulation of ideas, people, and artifacts in local and global networks; and hybrid technologies and forms of knowledge production. They address such topics as the work of female forensic geneticists in Colombia; the pioneering Argentinean use of fingerprinting technology in the late nineteenth century; the design, use, and meaning of the XO Laptops created and distributed by the One Laptop per Child Program; and the development of nuclear energy in Argentina, Mexico, and Chile. Contributors Pedro Ignacio Alonso, Morgan G. Ames, Javiera Barandiarán, João Biehl, Anita Say Chan, Amy Cox Hall, Henrique Cukierman, Ana Delgado, Rafael Dias, Adriana Díaz del Castillo H., Mariano Fressoli, Jonathan Hagood, Christina Holmes, Matthieu Hubert, Noela Invernizzi, Michael Lemon, Ivan da Costa Marques, Gisela Mateos, Eden Medina, María Fernanda Olarte Sierra, Hugo Palmarola, Tania Pérez-Bustos, Julia Rodriguez, Israel Rodríguez-Giralt, Edna Suárez Díaz, Hernán Thomas, Manuel Tironi, Dominique Vinck

This volume explores the governance and management of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in relation to social inclusion and sustainability, highlighting its goal, challenges, and opportunities. Divided into two sections, it addresses the goals and institutional arrangements around sustainable development in the context of Latin American countries as well as the challenges of developing absorptive STI capacities for inclusion in the higher education institutions and systems. The chapters tackle the important role of citizen science, science diplomacy, peace building, mission-oriented policies, public innovation, institutional entrepreneurs, and policy networks. Researchers and scholars will find an opportunity to better grasp several topics and methodologies in knowledge development in the governance of STI. This interdisciplinary work presents original research on science, technology and innovation policy and governance studies in an understudied region.