APA Newsletters
Fall 1999
Volume 99, Number 1

The APA has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to pursue studies in the philosophical exploration of science and technology. The APA will make this grant money available in two ways: through its committees and to individual members. The scope of the project is broad. It will examine philosophical aspects of scientific knowledge and values, specifically in regard to the way in which science and technology interact with cultural, racial, and gender diversity.

Many of the guiding questions of this research are of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender philosophers. The specifics of this project are available at the APA web site (www.apa.udel.edu/apa/new/national/nsf.html), but some of the topics include:

1.  bias in the practice of science and deployment of technology

2.  the impact of scientific perspectives on cultural perspectives

3.  differential participation by cultural groups in scientific and technological institutions

4.  the use of science in confirming or disconfirming cultural differences

5.  the value of scientific projects to diverse populations

6.  the social responsibilities of science and scientists

7.  reconciling advantages and disadvantages between cultures in the use of technology

8.  differential effects of technological developments on various cultural groups

The APA will make grant money available to pursue these topics in two ways. It will make funds available in the form of small grants ($500 to $3000). Secondly, Committees of the Association will commission research for presentation at APA meetings. Eventually, the APA hopes to publish the results.

It should be clear from even a cursory glance at the list of topics above that there are a number of issues that may be profitably explored from l/g/b/t perspectives. There is, for example, an arm of science that is trying to identify the determinants of sexual orientation. This science is the subject of considerable social discussion about whether it will advance or hinder the interests of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. Another domain of science also concerns itself with transgender identities. This science is also debated, both in its core concepts and in its ethical implications. The nature and meaning of gender is also a legitimate topic. For example, there are questions of whether the scientific study of gender may "naturalize" what are only socially constructed gender differences. And so on. It is worth drawing the attention of l/g/b/t members of the APA to this project since there are many points of overlap with current scholarship.