The biography of scientists as a means of communicating science: analogies concerning a hermeneutic or empirical problem

Abstract

Sometimes scientists live real dramas or undergo social and psychological conflicts which have a positive or negative influence on the development and recognition of their research, discoveries and inventions in society, including the way they are recorded in history. This being so, the question is: to what extent can science be communicated to the public at large by the use of scientists' biographies as a motivational strategy? The controversy arises from the fact that usual (classical) science has traditionally argued for the separation (or de-linking) of the research (the object) from the researcher (the subject).Thus, if the above-mentioned motivational strategy is used in scientific communication, it could break a dominant methodological trend and consequently lead to a questioning of the myth of axiological neutrality in science. The communication of science by means of scientists' biographies could be useful for reaching a specific public, more directed towards emotional aspects, thereby awakening its interest in science, even amid cultural differences and in environments where interest in science and its utility is lacking. It could also reveal human aspects of the everyday life of scientists, bringing them closer to the public at large, which would contribute to the dissemination of science and knowledge.

Wildlife Tourism: Extending Post-Experience Conservation Engagement Through Interpretive Nonfiction Narratives

“…The combination of the professional and personal aspects of a scientist's life has 'the function of providing exemplary lives for the edification of apprentice scientists, as algorithms for "scientific lives well lived" and thus provide a focus for aspiration' (Greene, 2007, p. 756). Carneiro (2007) claims that biographies have the ability to break down myths around the process of science, thereby potentially raising an interest in science and inspiring future scientists (Christensen, 2007). Wong's life story can also offer a compass to 'chart a life course that combines intellect, heart, judgement and professional skills' for future conservation scientists (Orr, 1999(Orr, , p. 1244.…”