Abstract
Philosophers of science debate the proper role of non-epistemic value judgements in scientific reasoning. Many modern authors oppose the value free ideal, claiming that we should not even try to get scientists to eliminate all such non-epistemic value judgements from their reasoning. W. E. B. Du Bois, on the other hand, has a defence of the value free ideal in science that is rooted in a conception of the proper place of science in a democracy. In particular, Du Bois argues that the value free ideal must be upheld in order to, first, retain public trust in science and, second, ensure that those best placed to make use of scientifically acquired information are able to do so. This latter argument turns out to relate Du Bois’ position on the value free ideal in science to his defence of epistemic democracy. In this essay I elaborate, motivate, and relate to the modern debate, Du Bois’ under-appreciated defence of the value free ideal.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almassi, B. (2012). Climate change, epistemic trust, and expert trustworthiness. Ethics and the Environment, 17(2), 29–49.
Alvin, I. (1999). Goldman, knowledge in a social world. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
Betz, G. (2013). In defence of the value free ideal. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 3(2), 207–220.
Bright, L. K. (2017). On fraud. Philosophical Studies, 174(2), 291–310.
Carrier, M. (2013). Values and objectivity in science: Value-ladenness, pluralism and the epistemic attitude. Science and Education, 22(10), 2547–2568.
de Melo-Martín, I., & Intemann, K. (2016). The risk of using inductive risk to challenge the value-free ideal. Philosophy of Science, 83(5), 500–520.
Douglas, H. (2009). Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1898). The study of negro problems. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 11(1), 1–23.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The talented tenth. In B. T. Washington (Ed.), The Negro Problem (pp. 31–76). New York: James Pott and Company.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1912). The rural south. Publications of the American Statistical Association, 13(97), 80–84.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1920). On the ruling of men. In Darkwater: Courier Corporation.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1935). Black reconstruction in America. New York: The Free Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1945). Human rights for all minorities. Langley: Speech Transcript.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1973). The revelation of Saint Ognre the damned. In H. Aptheker (Ed.), The education of Black People. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1990). My evolving program for negro freedom. Clinical Sociology Review, 8(1), 27–57.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1994). Mr. Booker T. Washington and others. In The souls of Black Folk. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1996). The conservation of races. In E. J. Sundquist (Ed.), The Oxford W.E.B. Du Bois Reader (pp. 38–47). Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (2000). Sociology hesitant. Boundary, 27(2), 37–44.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (2007). Dusk of dawn. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B., & Eaton, I. (1899). The Philadelphia negro. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Harding, S. (1995). “Strong objectivity”: A response to the new objectivity question. Synthese, 104(3), 331–349.
Hempel, C. G. (1965). Science and human values. In Aspects of scientific explanation. New York: The Free Press.
Jeffrey, R. C. (1956). Valuation and acceptance of scientific hypothesis. Philosophy of Science, 23, 237.
Kitcher, P. (1990). The division of cognitive labour. The Journal of Philosophy, 87(1), 5–22.
Kitcher, P. (2011). Science in a democratic society. New York: Prometheus.
Levi, I. (1960). Must the scientist make value judgments? The Journal of Philosophy, 57(11), 345–357.
Longino, H. E. (1996). Cognitive and non-cognitive values in science: Rethinking the dichotomy. In L. H. Nelson & J. Nelson (Eds.), Feminism, science, and the philosophy of science (pp. 39–58). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Longino, H. E. (2004). How values can be good for science. In P. Machamer & G. Wolters (Eds.), Science, values, and objectivity (pp. 127–142). Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Rudner, R. (1953). The scientist qua scientist makes value judgements. Philosophy of Science, 20(1), 1–6.
Steele, K. (2012). The scientist qua policy advisor makes value judgements. Philosophy of Science, 79(5), 893–904.
Weber, M. (1946). Science as a vocation. In H. H. Gerth & C. W. Mills (Eds.), From Max Weber (pp. 129–158). Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Thanks to Chike Jeffers, Teddy Seidenfeld, Haixin Dang, Olúfmi O. Táíwò, Daniel Malinsky, Bryce Huebner, Helen De Cruz, and (especially) Zina B. Ward, as well as anonymous reviewers, for helpful comments on this paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bright, L.K. Du Bois’ democratic defence of the value free ideal. Synthese 195, 2227–2245 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1333-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1333-z