Improving philosophical dialogue interventions to better resolve problematic value pluralism in collaborative...

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Team science
• Philosophy of science

Background:

• Environmental problems necessitate interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Value pluralism, or differing collaborator values, presents a significant barrier to effective environmental science teamwork.
• Existing research collaboration frameworks often overlook the impact of diverse values.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore value pluralism as a challenge in collaborative environmental science.
• To identify methods for detecting and coordinating value differences in scientific teams.
• To offer guidance for improving values-oriented dialogue in team science.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of value pluralism in collaborative environmental science.
• Review of dialogical approaches, including the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative.
• Identification of five coordination modes for value differences.
• Proposal of principles for augmenting philosophical dialogue.

Main Results:

• Value pluralism is a key obstacle in collaborative environmental science.
• Philosophical dialogue effectively detects value differences among collaborators.
• Dialogical approaches are less effective at coordinating these value differences.
• Five coordination modes exist, requiring participatory virtues, pragmatic resolve, and moral concern.

Conclusions:

• Addressing value pluralism is crucial for successful collaborative environmental science.
• Philosophical dialogue can be enhanced with other methods for better value coordination.
• The study provides practical guidance for navigating value differences in team science.