Paradigm As an Ethics of Humility

Abstract

An important element of the ethics of science is the professional code of scien­tific honesty transmitted by the scientific community. Basic research relies on the notion of gift-giving as a selfless ethical-cognitive relationship, one of the manifestations of which is scientific humility. The article establishes a link between the approach of virtue epistemology and ethical consequences from the concept of paradigm (T. Kuhn). Kuhn’s normative image of science suggests that the scientist assumes paradigmatic rules and limitations without any vio­lence. That is why paradigm represents a huge advantage for a “normal scientist” allowing her to solve only those particular puzzles that really interest her. Para­digm appears as a gift of a mythical revolutionary hero to the “normal” scientist. Scientific honesty forms a normative basis for basic research because scientists do not sell results to each other, do not extract income at the expense of the sci­entific community and therefore do not expect deception in the style of “bought cheaper, sold more expensive”. The primary meaning of the ethics of science is based on the selfless giving. Humility is the ability to accept the gift of knowl­edge and acknowledgement gratefully, to take on the duty of recognition and to be ready to pass on the same gift by inheritance.