Reflexiones sobre la ciencia en México

Abstract

Being a scientist is a way of being and interpret the existence that anthropologists call a worldview. Being a researcher is to practice a profession of those engaged in scientific work in any field of science. Science is a product of the mind that is based on certain knowledge of the world and reality and it is used to generate scientific knowledge. From the historical period known in Occident as the Enlightenment, in order to achieve a permanent generation of scientific knowledge that will benefit social organization and material and cultural development, countries that share a scientific vision of social progress invest in this activity and encourage science among its residents. In this paper we analyze the situation of this phenomenon in Mexican society. Throughout the XXth century and even now, having organized a “pseudo-socialist” model of scientific endeavor, the Mexican Government appears as a sponsor of science through its educational institutions, without a plan or program for social development. Similarly, with its mechanisms for generating wealth, private initiative does not carry out any activities in this regard, nor need of a plan or scientific program to increase their profits. It is found that, overall, Mexicans are not interested in generating scientific knowledge, basically because they acquired abroad ideas and benefits of this human activity. We conclude that being a scientist in Mexico reduces researchers to undertake the task of “decoders” of the knowledge generated in other parts of the world to facilitate its importation.