著者

後藤 邦夫

出版者

桃山学院大学

雑誌

桃山学院大学人間科学 (ISSN:09170227)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.10, pp.77-118, 1996-01-30

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"Science and Technology." We are accustomed to accept this phrase as a single integrated concept, though the words "science" and "technology" have rather independent meanings in history. This is one of the remarkable characteristics of our time, now in a big transition. Since the 1970s, a newly emerging research area, science and technology studies, or science, technology and society, say "STS", has become evident. Scholarly activity in this area is increasing, but it is not yet as clearly defined as many established disciplines. Some of this research is likely an expression of critical concerns about contemporary science and technology and its social consequences, while others are often policy studies linked with government administrations. But, in any case, the important and actual concern of studies concentrates on the study of science and technology in a social context, or in social relations. As early as the 1930s, some important works had appeared to study the politics of science and technology. During World War II, wartime mobilization of scientists and engineers gave a new social character to science and technology. As a result, the social relations of science became an important issue among many scientists. Nevertheless, the recent increase of interest in STS has some special meanings. The situation is much different from the past, when the corresponding research was supported by a few scientists with their personal endeavors. On the other hand, while STS studies came to be accepted by the scientific community as a newly established discipline, the conception of science and technology has changed from those views prevalent in the 1930s and 1940s to the current conceptions; i. e. from an enlightened view to a relativist view. Thus, there are very diverse views on the nature of the progress of science and technology, in contrast to older views, in which progress was automatically accepted as good. This very diversification is bringing a kind of fancy goods store, or an intellectual climate of "anything goes", into the research. While this situation is an expression of activity in the emerging state of learning, some improvement will be necessary in the further development of these new studies. Once, this writer has published a monograph, "Science, Technology, and Society: a Japanese Perspective, 1993, IC2 Institute University of Texas at Austin", to express his opinion on these problems. He also proposed a framework to promote research activity in this important area. This series of articles composes an improved Japanese version of the monograph. This writer would select two parts from the four in original English version, and would complement them with some expla-nations for readers who are not always belonging to any science and technology community. Part one of this series offers a general outlook for STS and a proposal for a framework for the integration of existing ideas and methods to give a fundamental methodology of STS. Part two is to comprehend twentieth century science and technology as an application of that methodology. This is not a description of twentieth century science and technology itself, but a research program for further investigation. This article has first two chapters of the series: Chapter one addresses the need for STS and the key question of the integration of science and technology. Characteristics of modern science are transferred into the modern technology, and with thus acquired features of science and technology the modern society has been largely influenced. This is a particular condition of contemporary STS research. Chapter two summarizes the results of STS research including some historical description. History, philosophy, and sociology provide core methods in most STS studies in programs of universities in the United States and Europe. But these disciplines are widely diversified. The problem is in deciding what parts of these vast areas of knowledge are essential. Efforts to integrate multidisciplinary achievements are also discussed.