The Constitution of Science: Scientists' Public Discourse on the Purpose and Nature of Scientific Institutions and Practices

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Science is an activity in which structured decision-making by peers or by people acting as representatives of science play a large role. Such activities are governed by a `constitution.` The U.S. Constitution is the written document plus the interpretation given in such texts as the Federalist papers. In the case of science, however, the constitution itself is not formally written, but there is a rich body of constitutional commentary in the form of editorials, letters to the editor, and other such writings that indicate what scientists think about the rules governing the conduct of science, violations of such rules, and ways to improve them or change them to suit new circumstances. The project will catalog and analyze over a thousand editorials, letters to the editor, and articles in the national press that address constitutional matters. The central aim is to identify constitutional issues raised in such documents, examine the principles at stake in the various disputes and delineate the way emerging principles interact with existing principles to change the constitution.