Commercialization and the Limits of Well-Ordered Science

The aim of this paper is to show that Philip Kitcher’s ideal of well-ordered science has limitations when trying to implement it as a guide for current commercialized science. After describing Kitcher’s ideal, I give a critical assessment of the approach, uncovering three limitations. I then explain some of the major changes that science organization has undergone in recent decades and how they affect scientific research. I argue that the limitations of Kitcher’s approach follow from not taking these changes sufficiently into account.