Ethos and symbolic violence among women of science: An empirical study

Abstract

While scientific challenges raise relevant debates about the ethics of science, the scientific ethos, shattered by post-Mertonian studies, has not received due attention and further conceptualizations in view of the transition to a knowledge society. However, investigating Italian women scientists, it appears to have survived as a reference for scientists, even if the context has changed. Indeed, the ethos of scientists is no longer conceivable as exclusive, but is instead seen as open and dynamic in the interaction with other symbolic references. Therefore, instead of scientific ethos, it is preferable to speak of scientific habit, including the individual symbolic universe and the social practices linked to the scientific role. In so doing, other habits come into focus and interact. In particular, we investigated the interaction between the scientific habit and the gender habit. We argue for a conflict between two such habits and for the existence of a scientifique. Enfin, on a identifié une nouvelle dimension de l'ethos qui n'est pas contenue dans la définition de celui de Merton: la responsabilité du scientifique dans la