Credibility and creativity in scientific communication
Writing and publishing a book on the social conditions that underpin the production of scientific knowledge: Where does cognitive creativity of scientists come from?
Abstract:
A project aimed at writing and publishing a book on the theme of the social conditions that underpin the cognitive creativity of scientists. Studying the social dynamics that influence individual and collective creativity in the different sectors of cultural production (from science to art, music, fashion and industrial design) is quite relevant today. Within the research, a section has been specifically dedicated to exploring the social conditions involved in the production of scientific knowledge. Such studies are not yet widesprea
d in Italy, while they have a long tradition in English-speaking countries. The specific purpose of the research is to study the role of credibility in intra-scientific communication. The theme of credibility has been only partially, and not significantly, explored by literature. The volume will take a clear position in the discussion by asserting that the cycle of credibility represents the fundamental “social form” in the production of scientific knowledge. The essay The Social Context of Scientific Knowledge Production and the Problem of Demarcation, “Pragmatics and Cognition” 14 (2006), pp. 527-568, has already been published within this project.
A comparison between fields of knowledge production
A research on the social dynamics that underpin the processes of knowledge production in contemporary societies: a study in the social fields in Physics and Philosophy in Italy.
Abstract:
A Research Program of National Interest (PRIN) financed by the MIUR (Ministry of Instruction, University and Research) in 2006/07 and conducted in collaboration with the University of Milan. The research project aims to provide innovative results in the field of sociology of culture and knowledge, by acquiring new information and proposing new interpretations regarding the social dynamics that underpin the processes of knowledge production in 
contemporary societies. Through a complete and in-depth insight into the social fields in Physics and Philosophy in Italy, it aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which they are governed. In particular, it focuses on the relationship between structures and practices, on the social mechanisms that influence the definition of knowledge that each field produces and legitimates, as well as on the characteristics and attitudes imposed upon the actors by the fields. It has been decided to use Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social fields as a theoretical and interpretative tool, as it offers an especially useful conceptual and categorical apparatus to reach the goals of the research. The methodology is complex and comprehensive, and combines standard and non standard techniques, due to the variety of data to be collected and analysed. Data collection is complete, data analysis is in progress.
Paolo Volonté 