“While there is a general trend toward science-based policy, science policy all too often remains an exception in not being science-based.” (um)
TINT started out as a research centre in the philosophy of the social sciences in 2006. In 2012-2017, we enjoyed a Centre of Excellence funding from the Academy of Finland and the University of Helsinki. During that period, our mission was defined by two broad goals. We pursued practically relevant philosophy of the social sciences with consequences for scientific practice and its management. We also pursued paths towards a new philosophy of interdisciplinarity, with practical consequences for the philosophy of science. Research on five specific themes served as means to these ends. (For more information on the research during the CoE period, see the archived CoE website.)
Having established TINT as a leading centre for the philosophy of the social sciences, we will continue our thriving research with an updated research agenda: Changing Science in Changing Society (CSCS). CSCS utilizes and expands our previous work – on models, evidence, social ontology, interdisciplinarity, expertise, and values in science. It combines philosophy of science and of the social sciences, findings from the cognitive and social sciences, resources of social ontology and social epistemology, and insights from political theory and policy studies to understand the conditions of successful functioning of scientific institutions in liberal democracies and other socio-cultural contexts. CSCS is an endeavour in scientifically informed and socially engaged philosophy of science. Its expected results are directly relevant to the design of the institutions of science, public understanding of science, and science policy.
CSCS will address three interrelated and overlapping themes. [1] Science of Society: methodological analyses of current social science and philosophical reflections on the implications of new scientific results. [2] Science as Society: philosophical analyses of the social institutions of science, considering the implications of adopting new reward systems and of extending research communities to incorporate artificial agents and members from multiple disciplines or extra-academic communities. [3] Science for Society: methodological and normative analyses of the role of scientific evidence and expertise in responsible policy-making, in problem-oriented participatory research, and in the public trust in science.