Problem-Centering vs. Means-Centering in Science

Bibliographic Data

ID10707117
AuthorsAbraham H Maslow (Brooklyn College, corresponding author)
Year1946
Volume13
Issue4
Pages326-331
Publication date1946-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/286907
OpenAlexW2039467279
LanguageEN
Citations received8

Resume Means-centered approach to science is contrasted with a problem-centered orientation. Overstress on and too exclusive concern with method, instrument, technique or procedure fosters the following mistakes: 1) Emphasis on polish and elegance rather than on vitality, significance and creativeness. 2) Giving the commanding positions in science to technicians rather than discoverers. 3) Over-valuation of quantification for its own sake. 4) Fitting problems to techniques rather than vice-versa. 5) Creation of a false and pernicious hierarchical system among the sciences. 6) Overstrong compartmentalization between the sciences. 7) Emphasis on the difference rather than the similarities between scientists and other truth-seekers (poets, novelist, artists, philosophers). 8) Creation of a scientific orthodoxy, which in turn a) tends to block the development of new methods, b) tends to exclude many problems from the jurisdiction of science and c) tends to make scientists “safe” rather than daring and unconventional. 9) Neglect of the problems of values, with a consequent blurring of the criteria for judging the worth or importance of an experiment

Aesthetics · Elegance · Epistemology · Neglect · Sociology · Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration · Philosophy · Psychology

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