The Heroic Mentorship

Abstract

Is mentoring toxic to scientific research? If so, does moral education transmit the toxin? By pursuing these questions, this article joins a host of scholarly inquiries into scientific misconduct. If moral education transmits the toxin, is character development its antidote? The pursuit of this question makes this article unique among such inquiries. The method of pursuit is interdisciplinary, of the type generally known as the science-technology-society (STS) approach. The author finds immaturity to be the toxin and a DuBoisian implementation of the mythological hero's journey in the university to be its antidote. The function of the mentor in this journey is modeled after Joseph Campbell's mythological hero helper, the hero being the mentor's protégé.