Technoscience, a Cultural Approach in the XXI Century: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The XXI century society is undergoing processes of economic, political, social, scientific and technological changes. There are new ways of thinking, producing and interacting. Today we talk of a "techno-scientific culture", the language of science is accepted, its production processes and its methods. It is within these guidelines, that it is essential the formation of scientifically and technologically literate citizens (Fourez, 1997), so they can reach a basic scientific culture capable of facilitating their insertion into the society of knowledge. This is the underlying reason for which, in recent times and from different perspectives, sensitive scientists and committed humanists are giving much importance to the investigation of what could be a third culture.

Without scientific literacy there is no reasonable possibility of intervention in the current public debate on most issues that really matter to the community of which we are part. This is because, as it is often mentioned, science is already a substantial part of our lives. An important number of public, ethical-political or ethical-legal discussions, now relevant, assume and require some knowledge of the state of the art of one or more natural sciences.