The STS Challenge to Philosophy of Science in Taiwan

Abstract

This article discusses the relation between the tradition of the philosophy of science and the tradition of science, technology, and society (STS) studies in Taiwan. The swiftly rising popularity of STS studies has issued a challenge to philosophy of science, whose practitioners have amounted to a relatively small community. The STS challenge is measurable in the increase in the number of scholars who have lost interest in philosophical debates. They doubted that these sorts of debates were far from the reality of science, technology, and society. Since philosophical debate within STS studies is a form peculiar to philosophy of science, this lack of interest can be read as symptomatic of a general skepticism on the necessity of philosophy of science. This paper argues that philosophy of science can provide useful models for the development of STS studies in Taiwan. Furthermore, philosophy of science can benefit from the rise of STS studies, so long as philosophers respond to the challenge. This paper sets out several strategies for such responses, and suggests that the philosophy of science should play a crucial role. This suggestion raises the question of whether philosophers of science are more suitable interlocutors to the scholars of STS studies than are philosophers of technology.