Knowledge and Power: An Introduction to Science Policy

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In his famous farewell address, President Eisenhower warned that the partnership between science and the state that emerged after World War II had given rise to two “equal and opposite” dangers. First, with the creation of a “military-industrial complex,” public policy risked becoming “captive of a scientific-technological elite.” Second, given universities’ growing dependence on federal funding, there was the potential “domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money.” Both dangers—science’s threat to democracy, and the government’s threat to science—have reemerged as central points of conflict in our politics today. This course offers an introduction to science policy by exploring its historical, philosophical, and political dimensions. It will consider key historical episodes, from the invention of the atom bomb to Covid-19 pandemic, and the moral and political debates they engendered. We will take up questions of contemporary relevance, including: What is the relationship between scientific knowledge and technological and political power? What are scientists’ obligations to society? Is science morally or politically neutral? What role should non-experts place in science policy? How can public policies preserve the freedom necessary for science to flourish while ensuring that scientific institutions remain democratically accountable?