Science Under the Yoke of Value

Science Under the Yoke of Value examines how science today is fundamentally governed not by an autonomous quest for knowledge and truth, or by the advancement of society, but by coercion to cater to a machinery that feeds on, and in its turn produces, self-implicating values of “quality”, “impact” or “productivity”, with disruptive consequences for scientific life as a whole.

Drawing on phenomenological analysis and the insights of thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Galilei, Kant, Husserl, Einstein, Heidegger, and Arendt, the book exposes how scholarly pursuits worldwide have become subjugated by non-scientific values. It challenges the uncritical acceptance of evaluation practices that threaten to transform academia into a self-perpetuating system where scholars labor under what the authors aptly term “the yoke of value.” Readers will gain profound insights into the philosophical underpinnings of academic evaluation, moving beyond common discussions of “bureaucratization” or “corporatization” to question the very concept of value that drives these systems. The book uniquely interrogates why enormous resources are devoted to evaluation systems without examining whether these values truly serve science or society, thereby diverting attention from the true menace to present-day scientific enquiry. This critical analysis helps scholars understand the mechanisms that “magically” prevent questioning of the system itself, offering a framework to recognize how scientific autonomy has been compromised and what this means for the advancement of knowledge.

This volume will appeal to STEM scholars, philosophers and social scientists alike, interested in scientific integrity and the autonomy of research. University administrators, policy makers, and anyone concerned with the purposes and trajectory of scientific research in contemporary society will find this analysis essential for understanding the current crisis in scientific and academic life.