Revisiting finalization

Abstract

The theory of finalization in science - and the debate it sparked in the late 1970s and early 1980s - continues to generate interest among social theorists studying science and scientific development. But the insights generated by this theory have yet to be tallied and its merits fully assessed. This article pursues a number of important ideas that came out of a recent effort to revisit finalization theory in Bielefeld. It begins with a brief review of the Starnberg model of finalization and the ideas of the Alternatives in Science group. It then moves beyond the Starnberg model to consider the issues raised at Bielefeld and the question of science “in the public interest”.