Pablo Schyfter
Biographic Data
| ID | 1356949 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Pablo Schyfter |
| GIVEN NAMES | Pablo |
| FAMILY NAME | Schyfter |
| SIGNATURE | SCHYFTER P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6940-4228 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 34 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Knowing Use
Social studies of knowledge have contributed many insights into the making and the character of scientific and technological knowledge. However, studies of knowledge use are scarce. This article engages with under-examined topics concerning epistemic utility. I posit and demonstrate that scientific and technological knowledge claims are functional. I argue that knowledge and its functions are mutually-enabling and mutually-sustaining constructs. …
Introduction
Talking STS is a collection of interviews and accompanying reflections on the origins, the present and the future of the field referred to as Science and Technology Studies or Science, Technology and Society (STS). The volume assembles the thoughts and recollections of some of the leading figures in the making of this field. The occasion for producing the collection has been the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of Edinburgh’…
STS and its Challenging Obligations
In a wide-ranging interview, Donald MacKenzie and Pablo Schyfter discuss the former’s entry into science and technology studies (STS), the trajectory of the field since then, and his perspectives on its character today. MacKenzie recalls his discovery of STS through political activism, and his subsequent experiences at the young Edinburgh Science Studies Unit. He reflects on the field’s development and defining moments of transition, divergence a…
Drawing Out by Drawing Into
“Synthetic Aesthetics” was a two-year experimental, interdisciplinary project that supported six partnerships between synthetic biologists and artists and designers. Each group sought to accomplish two tasks: build an interdisciplinary partnership and construct a joint representation. In this article, I explore the relationship between partnering and representing in one of the six partnerships: a collaboration between an architect and a synthetic…
Five rules of thumb for post-Elsi interdisciplinary collaborations
In this paper we identify five rules of thumb for interdisciplinary collaboration across the natural and social sciences. We link these to efforts to move away from the ‘ethical, legal and social issues’ framework of interdisciplinarity and towards a post-ELSI collaborative space. It is in trying to open up such a space that we identify the need for: collaborative experimentation, taking risks, collaborative reflexivity, opening-up discussions of…
What can science and technology studies learn from art and design? Reflections on ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’
In this paper we reflect on a project called 'Synthetic Aesthetics', which brought together synthetic biologists with artists and designers in paired exchanges. We - the STS researchers on the project - were quickly struck by the similarities between our objectives and those of the artists and designers. We shared interests in forging new collaborations with synthetic biologists, 'opening up' the science by exploring implicit assumptions, and int…
Taking Roles in Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Based on criticism of the “ethical, legal and social implications” (ELSI) paradigm, researchers in science and technology studies (STS) have begun to create and move into “post-ELSI” spaces. In this paper, we pool our experiences of working towards collaborative practices with colleagues in engineering and science disciplines in the field of synthetic biology. We identify a number of different roles that we have taken, been assumed to take, or ha…
Intentions, Expectations and Institutions
Synthetic biology is a field in-the-making: a loosely defined amalgamation of diverse disciplines, institutions and practices. Where some practitioners identify as scientists, others consider themselves engineers; while some extol the simplicity of standardised biology, others dismiss it as counterproductive. Three different communities in synthetic biology (epistemics, sceptical constructors and committed engineers) can be distinguished by way o…
Propellers and promoters
Social studies of engineering have dedicated little attention to the question of epistemology. Although considerable attention has been paid to the growth of knowledge in science, surprisingly few authors have considered the development of engineering knowledge, and while much is made of emerging technologies, emerging knowledge is still associated with science, not engineering. This disparity is justified to the extent that science aims at the d…
How a ‘drive to make’ shapes synthetic biology
Standing Reserves of Function
Getting Emotional about Objects
The bootstrapped artefact
Tackling the `Body Inescapable' in Sport
The Sexual Politics of Neurons
What can science and technology studies learn from art and design? Reflections on ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’
In this paper we reflect on a project called 'Synthetic Aesthetics', which brought together synthetic biologists with artists and designers in paired exchanges. We - the STS researchers on the project - were quickly struck by the similarities between our objectives and those of the artists and designers. We shared interests in forging new collaborations with synthetic biologists, 'opening up' the science by exploring implicit assumptions, and int…
Intentions, Expectations and Institutions
Synthetic biology is a field in-the-making: a loosely defined amalgamation of diverse disciplines, institutions and practices. Where some practitioners identify as scientists, others consider themselves engineers; while some extol the simplicity of standardised biology, others dismiss it as counterproductive. Three different communities in synthetic biology (epistemics, sceptical constructors and committed engineers) can be distinguished by way o…
Tackling the `Body Inescapable' in Sport
How a ‘drive to make’ shapes synthetic biology
The bootstrapped artefact
The Sexual Politics of Neurons
Tackling the `Body Inescapable' in Sport
Getting Emotional about Objects
The bootstrapped artefact
Standing Reserves of Function
Propellers and promoters
Social studies of engineering have dedicated little attention to the question of epistemology. Although considerable attention has been paid to the growth of knowledge in science, surprisingly few authors have considered the development of engineering knowledge, and while much is made of emerging technologies, emerging knowledge is still associated with science, not engineering. This disparity is justified to the extent that science aims at the d…
How a ‘drive to make’ shapes synthetic biology
Taking Roles in Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Based on criticism of the “ethical, legal and social implications” (ELSI) paradigm, researchers in science and technology studies (STS) have begun to create and move into “post-ELSI” spaces. In this paper, we pool our experiences of working towards collaborative practices with colleagues in engineering and science disciplines in the field of synthetic biology. We identify a number of different roles that we have taken, been assumed to take, or ha…
Intentions, Expectations and Institutions
Synthetic biology is a field in-the-making: a loosely defined amalgamation of diverse disciplines, institutions and practices. Where some practitioners identify as scientists, others consider themselves engineers; while some extol the simplicity of standardised biology, others dismiss it as counterproductive. Three different communities in synthetic biology (epistemics, sceptical constructors and committed engineers) can be distinguished by way o…
Drawing Out by Drawing Into
“Synthetic Aesthetics” was a two-year experimental, interdisciplinary project that supported six partnerships between synthetic biologists and artists and designers. Each group sought to accomplish two tasks: build an interdisciplinary partnership and construct a joint representation. In this article, I explore the relationship between partnering and representing in one of the six partnerships: a collaboration between an architect and a synthetic…
Five rules of thumb for post-Elsi interdisciplinary collaborations
In this paper we identify five rules of thumb for interdisciplinary collaboration across the natural and social sciences. We link these to efforts to move away from the ‘ethical, legal and social issues’ framework of interdisciplinarity and towards a post-ELSI collaborative space. It is in trying to open up such a space that we identify the need for: collaborative experimentation, taking risks, collaborative reflexivity, opening-up discussions of…
What can science and technology studies learn from art and design? Reflections on ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’
In this paper we reflect on a project called 'Synthetic Aesthetics', which brought together synthetic biologists with artists and designers in paired exchanges. We - the STS researchers on the project - were quickly struck by the similarities between our objectives and those of the artists and designers. We shared interests in forging new collaborations with synthetic biologists, 'opening up' the science by exploring implicit assumptions, and int…
Introduction
Talking STS is a collection of interviews and accompanying reflections on the origins, the present and the future of the field referred to as Science and Technology Studies or Science, Technology and Society (STS). The volume assembles the thoughts and recollections of some of the leading figures in the making of this field. The occasion for producing the collection has been the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of Edinburgh’…
STS and its Challenging Obligations
In a wide-ranging interview, Donald MacKenzie and Pablo Schyfter discuss the former’s entry into science and technology studies (STS), the trajectory of the field since then, and his perspectives on its character today. MacKenzie recalls his discovery of STS through political activism, and his subsequent experiences at the young Edinburgh Science Studies Unit. He reflects on the field’s development and defining moments of transition, divergence a…
Knowing Use
Social studies of knowledge have contributed many insights into the making and the character of scientific and technological knowledge. However, studies of knowledge use are scarce. This article engages with under-examined topics concerning epistemic utility. I posit and demonstrate that scientific and technological knowledge claims are functional. I argue that knowledge and its functions are mutually-enabling and mutually-sustaining constructs. …
Epistemology (14 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Engineering (7 works) · Engineering ethics (7 works) · Gene Regulatory Network Analysis (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Biology (5 works) · Philosophy (4 works)