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AT THE 1980 AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION MEETING IN WASHINGTON, A NEW ASSOCIATION DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF AN INTEGRATED BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE IN THE POLITICAL SCIENCES WAS FORMED, THE ASSOCIATION FOR POLITICS AND THE LIFE SCIENCES. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE HISTORY AND RATIONALE BEHIND THIS INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY AND SOME OF OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION.

Max Weber suggested that appeals to philosophy of science reflect a lack of sense of direction among scientists; this suggests the hypothesis that social scientists, who have been less successful than natural scientists in accounting for their data, should appeal to works in philosophy of science more often than natural scientists. This is tested through data on citations to 4 prominent philosophers of science in Science Citation Index & Social Science Citation Index in 1969 & 1978. Social scientists are more than 20 times as likely as natural scientists to cite these authors. These findings are consistent with Weber's suggestion. 1 Table. Modified HA.

The numerous cases of fraud in science that have been reported in scientific & general publications generate suspicion that the institution of science is not self-policing. According to the functionalists, particularly R. K. Merton, the scientific community regulates itself through observance of the norms of universalism, communism, organized skepticism, & disinterestedness. However, the growing specialization of science, competition for research grants, interpenetration of science, government & business, rewards for original research rather than replications, acceptance of authority, & unquestioning commitment to paradigms & ideologies, present few barriers to its perpetration & many temptations for it. The results of fraud in science are not only loss of truth, but, where science is relevant to technology & policy, loss of economic resources & even of life. AA.