Theories of Human Values and Beliefs in the Practices of Science, Technology, Development and Sustainability

Abstract

Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) are social devices embedded in symbolic matrices and power relations. Their association with development demands under the assumption of “progress” however, has generated numerous socioeconomic and environmental impacts. In this context, the discourse of sustainability emerges as a multidimensional strategy for a new pattern of development. This discursive appropriation, legitimized by technoscience and by its inability to address emerging issues, rekindles the need for critical reflections on the values and beliefs embedded in research and development processes within ST&I. It is imperative to recognize and value epistemologies that access these significant levels of reality, as well as to understand the underlying constructions of scientific-technological knowledge production. This study presents itself as an integrative and bibliographic literature review addressing political-discursive narratives on sustainability. It highlights the transition from ecodevelopment to the hegemonic discourse of sustainability, characterized by a technocratic emphasis and the dilution of its critical potential. Subsequently, the research examines the concept of human values and its theoretical foundations, with a focus on Schwartz’s refined theory. The approach conceives beliefs as worldviews. The proposal is to outline an epistemological and methodological interdisciplinarity for future empirical investigations on scientific practices in the context of sustainability.