A Philosophical Approach to Biasing Mechanisms in Scientific Research

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Torsten Wilholt
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 462891071

This project aims to provide a philosophical analysis that contributes to a better understanding of biasing mechanisms in science. In the philosophy of science, recent work has led to an emerging consensus that science is not value-free, and that values, including social and political values, play different roles in the research process. It has also become clear that values sometimes contribute to science’s epistemic and social goals while other times, they can have a detrimental effect on science’s capacity to achieve these goals, in particular by causing biased research results. The main goal of this project is to clarify the negative roles of values in scientific research, and in particular their sometimes biasing effects. In particular, the project will improve on the existing state of research in philosophy of science by developing a clear understanding of different types of biases, their mechanisms, and their scope. The project pursues these goals by taking the following steps:(1) Providing a taxonomy of biases in scientific inquiry,(2) distinguishing ways in which biases operate and elucidating each with examples from current scientific inquiry,(3) analyzing how biases impact the epistemic goals of research,(4) identifying and discussing different proposals for counteracting biases in research and(5) presenting a moral evaluation of the introduction of biases in research, identifying cases of moral accountability for biased research processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Colombia
• Partner Organisation: Universidad de los Andes
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Manuela Fernández Pinto