Philosophical thoughts about the specialization phenomenon in natural sciences

This paper is a philosophical attitude about the phenomenon of specialization with focus on the natural sciences such as marine biology. At first, a briefly pointing out the context in which the phenomenon of specialization begins to become notable, which is linked to the process of professionalization that occurred in science in the second half of the 19th century. Then, it will be indicated how the phenomenon of specialization can be conceptualized, for which the concept of hierarchy will be used, that is, a hierarchical ordering of the taxonomy of sciences. Some of the advantages and limitations of this way of thinking about specialization, as well as some alternatives, are discussed. Next, the problem of the reliability of specialists are analyzed, which determines the way in which the specialist in general and the scientist in particular are socially perceived. The other problem that will be analyzed refers to the way in which scientific knowledge is imparted when it is part of a specialization process. Here, the key concept to understand the teaching process is training. Finally, some negative consequences of the process of specialization will be emphasized.