The new science - doing research in a knowledge society Asger Sørensen, Copenhagen Business School

Program I. Knowledge and science II. Knowledge society III. Knowledge politics

I. What is knowledge? Technical utility: –Engineering, economics Empirical reliability: –Biology, pscyhology, sociology, linguistics Theoretical and practical validity: –Science & politics Philosophy: Semantics and logic –What does ’knowledge’ mean?

I. Plato Knowledge vs. belief –Episteme vs. doxa –Ideas vs. phenomena –Changebility vs. necessity Knowledge: –True belief? –Justified True Belief? Theory of knowledge (epistemology): Standardaccount Knowledge presupposes knowledge

I. Aristotle 5 paths to truth: –Scientific knowledge - episteme –Reasonable conception – nous –Visdom – sofía –Artistic and technical skill – techne –Practical reason – phronesis Reality: –Changeable vs. unchangeable –Mathematics, metaphysics vs. art, politics, rhetorics

I. Philosophy of science Epistemology –Normativity Truth, not a descriptive theory about knowledge Logical positivism Critical rationalism Criterias for –Truth: Consensus, correspondense, coherence –Meaning –Good science, scientific theories

I. History and Sociology of science Kuhn: History of science –Normative – descriptive –Positivism as ghost position Feyerabend: Anything goes Merton: Sociology of science –Why science failed The strong programe: Bloor & Barnes –Critique of ideology –Symmetry – why science failed and succeeded Sociology of scientific knowledge Socialconstructivism

II. Knowledge society What is society? –Sociological question –Risc-, knowledge-, post-industrial, … Knowledge society: –Globalization, captalism etc. –Sweden: Kunskappssamhälet A democratic possibility

II. Lyotard: Post-modernity Knowledge is legitimate: –In it self: University, speculation, –Since it emancipates: Enlightment, education External: Informatization and capitalism Internal: –Science does not produce knowledge –Scientific knowlegde cannot justify emancipation

II. Drucker: Post-capitalist Knowledge society Revolution – applying knowledge –Industriel: tools, processes, products - technology Techné – skill, craft, apprenticeship –Productibity: work – Taylor’s scientific management –Management: Knowledge, innovation Innovation: –Making profitable an idea, –Expoiting non-perfect market –Unequal distribution of knowledge

II. Gibbons: New Production of Knowledge Mode 1 Basic research Production and application Scientific problems, analysis University, Static One dimensional growth Peer review Homogenous, disciplinary Theory vs. praxis Mode 2 Application, problem solving Production in application Society problems, syntheses Projects groups, Short term, fluid Growth in many aspects Outside control Heterogenous, muliti-disciplinary Theory in practice

III. Knowledge economy Knowledge production, cirkulation and distribution –Wightless economy, no friction Knowledge worker –Knowledge creation –Drucker: Autonomy, defining problems Innovation vs. invention –Drucker: from idea to comodity Triple helix: Business, government and science

III. Knowledge management Organisation theory –Human ressource management Knowledge sharing –Sticky and leaky knowledge –Tacit and explicit knowledge Instrumental exploitation Validity –Long term vs. short term –Market, quality control – or science

III. Knowledge politics Economy & politics –Private vs. public Political economy –Public regulation: wellfare, democracy Science politics –Universities vs. corporations –Society or business Social innovation: Developing society

III. Danish Universities Goverment of universities –Before/now, here/there Employment regulation –Scientific and other qualifications –Departmet leader decides –No publicity and complaints University government –Board with majority of non-scientist –Employed non-scientific leadership

III. Danish Universities 2 Cultural inertia (RUC, ÅU, KU) Entrepenuer (DTU, CBS, SDU, DPU) –Test of logical and juridical posibilities Government –Pallesens car, closed board sessions, no support of independant univeristy weekly, travel grant, management fund, Employment –Protege without assesment,

”What is to be done?” Scientific research? Innovation? Political action?