Ethical Connotations Of Cohen's Scientific Revolution Thoughts

The thesis mainly explores the ethical connotations of I. Bernard Cohen's scientific revolution thoughts from the following aspects: Firstly, Cohen's scientific revolution thoughts indicate the ethical essence of scientific revolution. In Cohen's view, not only does transition of the aim reveal the historical distinctions of attitudes towards the relations among scientific revolution, human, society and nature, but also the newly-formed methods are of great value to the democracy of scientific researchers and knowledge. Building on the theory that the process of scientific revolution falls into four successive phases, Cohen holds that the dialectic of scientific activity, tradition and revolution keeps an appropriate tension through transformations in scientific revolutions, and he considers the citation, both positive and negative, is an important criterion of success of scientific revolution. Secondly, Cohen points out the various moral conflictions existing in the scientific revolutions, such as conversion from conservative ideas to innovative ideas, dispute over the priority of discovery, the demurral at influences of scientific revolutions on social ideology and so on, and accordingly he advocates respecting the others'achievements and transforming in an acceptive way. Moreover, in his research into interactions between the natural sciences and the social sciences ever since the Scientific Revolution, Cohen holds that the great accomplishments of natural sciences lead to the neutralism of scientific value and the emulation of the natural sciences by social sciences and humanities, which consequently bring promotion and demotion to science and society simultaneously, thus making it running into the crises of legitimacy of social science and humanities as well as the value crisis of its own validity. Finally, Cohen's study of reasons for the ethical dilemmas shows that social and a scientific environment influences the development of the four phases of scientific revolution. In consequence, all of the main bodies and their organizations should take responsibility of scientific revolution.