ABSTRACT
This chapter uses disputes along the bio/social boundary to explain the emergence of multiple distinctive epistemic cultures within the field of behavior genetics. It draws on Karin Knorr Cetina's description of "epistemic cultures" as distinctive technical, social, and symbolic systems for making knowledge. Knorr-Cetina's analysis shows the diversity of knowledge-making cultures within the sciences; cultures that do not always map onto other categories such as "discipline" or "field". "Giving the field away" would not require a researcher to re-train. "Giving the field away" produced a characteristic style of research practice. Another way that practitioners addressed the field's credibility problems was by cultivating practices aimed at carefully managing the scientific claims made using behavior genetics tools. Practitioners employed a variety of techniques to cultivate cautious claiming amongst users of behavior genetics tools. The chapter brings the "Epistemic cultures" and "boundary work" lines of thinking into greater contact through an analysis of the field of behavior genetics.
