Against the perpetual imminence that universities, education and science become instrumentalized by the politics of reality, Jürgen Habermas, in Theory and Practice, pleads for a 'politicisation' of science and education in terms of enhancing mechanisms of self-reflection in science [ 81].
In his reflections in "The Science of Art", Ramachandran proposes a theory: Van Gogh's epileptic seizures in his temporal lobes may have actually strengthened neural connections between his visual object and face area and the amygdala, nucleus accumbens and other brain regions involved in gauging the emotional significance of what's being viewed.
As was already mentioned, one key issue in the reflection on science and technology is the issue of 'distance versus proximity'.
From Plato to Kant, reflection on science had always occupied a central place in philosophy, but the sciences had to be sufficiently developed for their diversity to manifest itself.
Along the pathway to accepting modernity, perhaps a new Pontifical Commission on Birth Control, now almost a half century after the last one's recommendations for change fell on deaf ears, might bring a fresh perspective on this profoundly divisive issue, a signal that the Church is at least willing to engage in serious reflection on modern science and medicine on reproductive issues.
Their writings recapitulated in more precise form a view that had surfaced in earlier reflections on science from Aristotle onward.
Not only are normative assumptions implicit in scientific practice, but these assumptions can be the subject of intense debate and reflection within science.
The attempts of the anti-science post-modernists first emerged in Western countries to remedy the negative influence of rapid economic development stimulated by science and technology through reflection on science.
That same year, he published How to Win the Nobel Prize: An Unexpected Life in Science, a reflection on his life and work that also touches on historical aspects of science and on the intellectual environment of modern-day research.
The purpose of this chapter is to emphasise the role of the core aspect of the scientific endeavour that is fundamental to any good science but that is currently largely neglected, namely reflection, or the intellectual activity in science.
A personal reflection by former biochemist Kathy Weston published in Science Careers last week noted with some cynicism the type of freedom provided in "what was touted as a meritocracy".
