Science, Scientists and Music

• In Event: 1555 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 7. The Job of Research: Examining the Academic Institution of Science

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical relationships among translational science, scientists and music. The relationship between science and music has been of great interest to philosophers, historians and musicologists for centuries. Thinkers like CP Snow have called for closer ties between science and the arts in general at the paradigmatic level. From a sociological perspective, I argue that science and music are closely linked at the everyday life level of contemporary biomedical science. An ongoing qualitative study of an NIH-funded program in translational science has found that music can serve to help scientists maintain a balanced self in light of new and sometimes difficult expectations placed on them and their work. Translational science is a scientific movement that aims to facilitate the efficient application of bio-medical research to clinical services design and delivery (i.e., improving the “bench-to-bedside” process). A major organizational strategy for operationalizing translational science is the team science concept. Team science is an organizational strategy by which a number of researchers, staff and administrators work together to accomplish specific scientific goals. Research teams are expected to be interdisciplinary, horizontal in leadership, with explicit attention paid to mentorship and community involvement. As the structure of research evolves, one would expect to see the everyday values, procedures, assumptions, and practices also evolve. A qualitative approach inspired by symbolic interactionism provides the opportunity to examine the place of the scientist in this movement. The concept of the existential self provides a useful platform for this examination, as the reflexive nature of the existential self is the way the person’s experience of individuality is affected by and in turn affects organizational change. I propose six ways scientists use and can use music to enhance their sense of self and the quality of their work.

Author

• Joseph A. Kotarba, Texas State University