Science as creation is political unless it rationally enlarges life

Evidence

If science is the “discovery” of formerly unknown reality, is this reality not conceived of in a certain sense as transcendent? And is it not thought that there still exists something “unknown” and hence transcendent? And does the concept of science as “creation” not then mean that it too is “politics”? Everything depends on seeing whether the creation involved is “arbitrary”, or whether it is rational—i.e. “useful” to men in that it enlarges their concept of life, and raises to a higher level (develops) life itself. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 917

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gramsci here distinguishes arbitrary creation from rational science-as-creation, grounding a normative test for genuine political knowledge.
• XREF: The ‘science as creation not discovery’ move echoes later constructivist epistemology the Islamophobia readings will rely on, marking this as the deep source. — connects to: Critical philosophy of science justifies extending rationalization into practical goals and politics — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 607