Kitcher on well-ordered science: Should science be measured against the outcomes of ideal democratic deliberation?

Abstract

What should the goals of scientific inquiry be? What questions should scientists investigate, and how should our resources be distributed between different lines of investigation? Philip Kitcher has suggested that we should answer these questions by appealing to an ideal based on the consideration of hypothetical democratic deliberations under ideal circumstances. This paper examines possible arguments that might support acceptance of this ideal for science, and argues that neither the arguments presented by Kitcher (2001, 2011b) nor traditional arguments for democracy succeed in justifying its acceptance.