Project Overview
This project aims to enhance our understanding of the challenges and benefits of collaboration between philosophers of science, on the one hand, and scientists and engineers, on the other, with the ultimate aim of fostering meaningful collaboration between the two. We look at common barriers to POS-STEM collaborations, strategies for overcoming those barriers, and the key benefits of these collaborations, especially for scientists and engineers. This project builds on CoLab’s previous work exploring philosophy-STEM collaborations from the perspectives of philosophers of science (see “Increasing the Impact of Philosophy of Science in Scientific Domains”).
Background and Motivation
Many philosophers have demonstrated how philosophy of science can enhance scientific practice — such as by clarifying concepts, interrogating underlying assumptions, identifying alternative explanations, and illuminating the role of values in research. Some have even shared case studies of their own collaborations with scientists, illustrating how these partnerships work in practice. Yet most of this literature reflects the perspectives of philosophers, rather than STEM researchers themselves. We know surprisingly little about how scientists and engineers actually experience these collaborations: what they get out of them, what makes them challenging, and what conditions make them more or less likely to succeed. The barriers that scientists face when engaging with philosophers have been especially neglected — a significant gap, given that calls for more collaboration are unlikely to succeed if we don’t understand what’s holding scientists back.
Phase 1: Interviews with Scientists and Engineers
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 scientists and engineers who have collaborated with philosophers of science. Our participant pool represents a variety of disciplines, institutions, geographical locations, and social identities. We examined how these collaborations get started, what makes them successful, the various ways they advance work in both fields, and what STEM researchers look for in philosophy collaborators. Below is an overview of our key findings and associated publications.
- Scientists and engineers expressed many benefits to collaborating with philosophers of science, such as better questions, improved methods, and richer thinking. These benefits outweighed the challenges they faced, which included ambivalence from STEM colleagues and navigating disparate disciplinary norms. Participants also described the ideal conditions for engaging in philosophy-STEM collaborations that can help them increase the chance that such collaborations are successful (Plaisance & Doody, 2026).
- While participants found that the benefits of collaboration tended to outweigh the challenges, they also noted that disciplinary expectations about what counts as ‘good’ science could disincentivize philosophy-STEM collaborations, suggesting that there are competing notions of ‘good’ science at work (Doody & Plaisance, 2025).
- We are currently working on a third manuscript which examines that role of relational factors in making philosophy-STEM collaborations work, as well as the traits that scientists look for in potential collaborators.
Phase 2: Survey of 2,000+ Scientists and Engineers
Using data from phase 1, we developed a survey instrument that was sent out to STEM researchers across Canada and the U.S. to assess their attitudes towards philosophy of science and potential interest in collaborating with philosophers of science. For participants who expressed interest in collaborating, but had not yet done so, we asked about the barriers to collaboration. And for those who had engaged with philosophers of science in the past, we explored the types of interactions they’ve had and any benefits they experienced as a result of formal collaboration.
- In a previous survey of philosophers of science, participants reported that the number one barrier they perceived when it came to collaborating with STEM researchers was a lack of interest from scientists. Thus, we were pleasantly surprised to find that over 60% of participants reported being interested in collaborating with philosophers of science and that over half of participants had informally engaged with philosophers in some form or another. This signals that scientists and engineers are likely far more open to working with philosophers of science than many people assume (Plaisance et al., 2026).
- We also have papers under review or in progress that examine the following: types of informal engagement between philosophers and STEM researchers; barriers scientists and engineers reported as reasons for not (yet) having collaborated with philosophers of science; and benefits experienced by participants who have engaged in philosophy-STEM collaborations.
Project Collaborators
PI: Katie Plaisance
Collaborators:
- Sara Doody (Phases 1 & 2)
- Dinesh Moro (Phase 1)
- Chad Gonnerman (Phase 2)
- Aaron McCright (Phase 2)
Project advisors: Michael O’Rourke, Kevin Elliott, Eric Turkheimer
This work was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant.