From Gamble to Conformity? Academic Careers, Ethical Neutrality and the Role of ‘Professional’ Social Sciences

ABSTRACT

Max Weber´s sober inventory of academic life and his prophetic vision of its ‘Americanization’ highlight the impact of societies on scientific knowledge production and academic careers. Likewise, Weber was concerned with the impact of science on societies. Being aware of the growing epistemic authority of science Weber warned of its potential abuse by scientists. However, he never explored the possible implications of these connections: How are changing academic career paths, e.g. the increasing ‘professionalization,’ affecting self-image and strategies of scientists? How are changing social expectations shaping the role of scientists in societies? This contribution reengages with Weber´s text to analyze this interplay focusing on the potential trade-off between the professionalization of scientists and the epistemic authority of science: Weber´s understanding of science as a social venture is particularly informative in modern knowledge societies in which scientific knowledge plays an ever more important role. Focusing on the interplay between increasingly professionalized academic careers and the unresolved issue of drawing the boundaries of scientific authority will thus contribute to a better understanding of the contradictions of modern societies, in which scholars themselves decry ‘intellectual monocultures’ while at the same time scientists are denigrated as opportunists and ‘rent seekers.’

KEYWORDS:

• Academic capitalism
• scientific authority
• professionalization
• social sciences

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Which might have been an even more pressing issue at the time of the publication of ‘Science as a Vocation’ in 1919. After the surrender of the German Forces and the abdication of Germany’s last emperor, political future was in limbo, with academics from all sides of the political spectrum seeking to influence the political process.

2. The Second World War also witnessed the development of applied social sciences. ‘Operation research’ units, engaged with finding ways of how to make the best use of the newly developed radar technology in anti-aircraft operations employed simple (economic) models to predict the actions of enemy pilots (see: Fortun and Schweber 1993, 601; Ruser 2018, 68–69).

3. Weber was well aware of the many injustices and prejudices that prevented students and young scholars from pursuing a successful academic career: ‘When young students come to me to seek advice about qualifying as a lecturer, the responsibility of giving it is scarcely to be borne’ he writes, adding ‘Of course, if the student is a Jew, you can only say: lasciate ogni Speranza’ (Weber [1919]2004, 7).

4. For instance through the ‘clique politics’ of the review process (Andreski 1972, 50) that benefit ‘citation cartels’ thus increasing the pressure to conform with mainstream theories and methods.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no specific funding for this work.

Notes on contributors

Alexander Ruser

Alexander Ruser is Professor of Sociology at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. After earning a Ph.D. in political Sociology from the Max-Weber-Institute at Heidelberg University and research stays in Japan and South Korea, he was a Dahrendorf Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance Berlin and the London School of Economics and Political Science, Temporary Professor of Sociology at Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen and a visiting fellow at Punjab University, Chandigarh. He is an active member of the Center for Global Knowledge Studies (gloknos) at Cambridge University. Alex research focuses on the social role of experts, climate politics and sociology of science.