The epistemological view of Timothy Lenoir: the cultural production of the scientific Disciplines

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to interpret and disseminate some ideas of Timothy Lenoir from his case studies about developments, in the Imperial Germany and the Silicon Valley, which show that the scientific advancement might result from the dialogue between different actors: academia, industry, state; from the inseparability between theory and technique. Lenoir considers science as an interested activity, in which the instrumental and technical aspects are crucial for its development. He argues that the institution of scientific disciplines is, in many cases, associated to multiple social, professional, and industrial interests: the industries become users of scientific ideas and at the same time they contribute with products, techniques, and in the construction of research institutes; the university, in turn, contributes with the innovations that generate the creation of new technologically based enterprises. In that sense, it is not always possible to dissociate theory and technique, or basic and applied research. Sometimes, science and industry are “wall to wall” mutually contributing and generating development.