The issue 63 of „Człowiek i Społeczeństwo” we are proposing will be entitled The Community of Researchers: The Ideal of Truth in Science. A Contemporary Perspective.
The term the community of inquiry was borrowed from Charles S. Peirce, who developed a conception of truth whose producer and custodian is a community of researchers selflessly cooperating to solve the most important social problems.
According to Peirce, the principles of the community of researchers are as follows:
(1) Collective inquiry: the scientific community plays a crucial role in the creation, testing, and verification of scientific hypotheses; (2) Commitment to truth: it is the community rather than individuals that ultimately determines the validity of scientific claims; (3) Moral obligation and social need take precedence over personal preferences and prejudices. This is precisely what distinguishes the scientific method from beliefs based on emotions and/or the particular interests of those who espouse them.
Peirce’s theoretical proposal thus concerns an understanding of science as a social phenomenon. The collective work of research communities and their capacity for self-regulation justify their claim to the validity of what they have to say. Of secondary importance is the particular ideal of science embraced by each community. What matters is that this ideal should not be accidental, inconsistently applied, or open to accusations of bias. This is especially significant because, in the view of many observers, the contemporary university is afflicted by the proliferation of pseudo-communities that lack any genuine ideals.
Peirce’s perspective is echoed by scholars such as Ludwik Fleck, Thomas Kuhn, Florian Znaniecki, and Pierre Bourdieu. Despite the differences that separate them, all of these thinkers inquire into the possibility of cooperation among scholars representing different disciplines and differing in background, outlook, or preferred lifestyles. We wish to revisit the question posed by these eminent scholars: To what extent is academic cooperation possible today, and what factors impede it? In the latter case, is the problem limited to the concerns expressed by Bill Readings in „The University in Ruins”, namely that the university has lost its communal universality in favor of administrative excellence? Or should other dysfunctions also be taken into account, dysfunctions that call into question the vitality of this institution?
We invite scholars from the humanities and social sciences to share their reflections on these issues. We are particularly interested in a cultural studies perspective, one that seeks to connect the social, political, and economic difficulties faced by the contemporary university with broader transformations taking place in contemporary culture.
We are open to critical, including highly critical, re-evaluations of the subject from today’s perspective.