Changing science and ensuring our future

Futures

Volumn 29, Issue 6, 1997, Pages 505-517

  Healy, S A ^a  

^a NONE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0003210277     PISSN: 00163287     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/s0016-3287(97)00025-6     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Beck, U., Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London, Sage, 1992, p. 180.
2. For two excellent reviews of this controversy whose concerns correspond to that of this article see Durant, J., Once the men in white coats held the promise of a better future. Why have we lost our trust in them? The Independent, 1 April 1996, p. 17; and Wynne, B., Patronising Joe Public. The Times Higher Education Supplement, 12 April 1996, p. 13.
3. For two excellent reviews of this controversy whose concerns correspond to that of this article see Durant, J., Once the men in white coats held the promise of a better future. Why have we lost our trust in them? The Independent, 1 April 1996, p. 17; and Wynne, B., Patronising Joe Public. The Times Higher Education Supplement, 12 April 1996, p. 13.
4. For further detail see Healy, S. A., Science, technology and future sustainability, Futures, July/August 1995, 27(6), 611-625.
5. CFCs, the chemicals primarily responsible for ozone depletion, were believed to be totally inert and so large scale environmental release was seen as completely non-problematical. This is underlined by the shock delivered to the scientific community by the announcement of the first sightings of the ozone hole, the subsequent delay of some years in developing effective scientific models and the momentum this provided to the signing of the Montreal Protocol (see Bridgeman, H., Global Air Pollution: Problems for the 1990s. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, 1990, pp. 54-64; and Litfin, K. T., Ozone Discourses. Columbia University Press, 1994). In the case of global warming direct links are more tenuous although central to the argument of this paper is the proposition that the assumption underlying many aspects of our collective industrial behaviour, such as our propensity to use the natural world as a large scale sink for our waste products (in this case carbon dioxide), is fuelled by a blind technocratic optimism born of science. See also Ref. 8 below.
6. CFCs, the chemicals primarily responsible for ozone depletion, were believed to be totally inert and so large scale environmental release was seen as completely non-problematical. This is underlined by the shock delivered to the scientific community by the announcement of the first sightings of the ozone hole, the subsequent delay of some years in developing effective scientific models and the momentum this provided to the signing of the Montreal Protocol (see Bridgeman, H., Global Air Pollution: Problems for the 1990s. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, 1990, pp. 54-64; and Litfin, K. T., Ozone Discourses. Columbia University Press, 1994). In the case of global warming direct links are more tenuous although central to the argument of this paper is the proposition that the assumption underlying many aspects of our collective industrial behaviour, such as our propensity to use the natural world as a large scale sink for our waste products (in this case carbon dioxide), is fuelled by a blind technocratic optimism born of science. See also Ref. 8 below.
7. This is not to deny that "...any complexity 'tool' must always be more than a mere tool, since its use must build in the very indeterminacy which it claims to be addressing" in Shackley, S., Wynne, B. and Waterton, C., Imagine complexity - the past, present and future potential of complex thinking. Futures, April 1996, 28(3), 220, which has an extended discussion of the shortcomings of positivistic efforts that fail to practice such reflexivity.
8. Kuhn, T. S., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1987.
9. Perspective. The Times Higher Education Supplement, September 30 1994, pp. 17-19; and Letters. The Times Higher Education Supplement, 21 October 1994, p. 15.
10. Perspective. The Times Higher Education Supplement, September 30 1994, pp. 17-19; and Letters. The Times Higher Education Supplement, 21 October 1994, p. 15.
11. The example par excellence here must be Global Circulation Models our major source for projections of the effects of global warming. Acknowledged to be incomplete both in terms of available theoretical and empirical knowledge they none the less play a central role in broader political developments in this area. For a recent critical review see Shackley, S. and Wynne, B., Global climate change: the mutual construction of an emergent science policy domain. Science and Public Policy, August 1995, 22(4), 218-230.
12. See for example the case study on Chernobyl fallout on upland Cumbrian sheep grazing land: Wynne, B., Uncertainty and environmental learning. In Clean Production Strategies: developing preventive environmental management in the industrial economy, ed. T. Jackson. London, Lewis Publishers, 1993; and Wynne, B., Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and the public uptake of science. In Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds. A. Irwin and B. Wynne. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996.
13. See for example the case study on Chernobyl fallout on upland Cumbrian sheep grazing land: Wynne, B., Uncertainty and environmental learning. In Clean Production Strategies: developing preventive environmental management in the industrial economy, ed. T. Jackson. London, Lewis Publishers, 1993; and Wynne, B., Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and the public uptake of science. In Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds. A. Irwin and B. Wynne. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996.
14. See particularly Irwin and Wynne, ibid; and Irwin, A., Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development. London, Routledge, 1995.
15. See particularly Irwin and Wynne, ibid; and Irwin, A., Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development. London, Routledge, 1995.
16. Irwin, A., Dale, A. and Smith, D., Science and hells kitchen: the local understanding of hazard issues. In Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds. A. Irwin and B. Wynne Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996. See also A. Irwin, Witnesses, participants and major accident hazards (Chap. 4) and Freeing the voices: a science of the people (Chap. 5). Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development. London, Routledge, 1995..
17. Irwin, A., Dale, A. and Smith, D., Science and hells kitchen: the local understanding of hazard issues. In Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds. A. Irwin and B. Wynne Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996. See also A. Irwin, Witnesses, participants and major accident hazards (Chap. 4) and Freeing the voices: a science of the people (Chap. 5). Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development. London, Routledge, 1995..
18. For an explanation of the mutual construction of such commitments, between science and policy, in the field of global climate change see: Shackley, S. and Wynne, B., Global climate change: the mutual construction of an emergent science policy domain. Science and Public Policy, August 1995, 22(4), 218-230.
19. This relates to the earlier point that scientists 'allow' science to be misrepresented in the public sphere. In general at the level of the laboratory many of the 'weaknesses' presented here are widely discussed and acknowledged but are increasingly institutionally 'black-boxed' as scientific knowledge moves from the laboratory to the often highly political settings in which it is utilised. A state of affairs that scientists generally regard as outside of their sphere of influence because of the pervasiveness of neo-Mertonian notions of science as a distinct, separate, neutral and objective activity (see Healy, S. A., Science, technology and future sustainability, Futures, July/August 1995, 27(6), 611-625.).
20. Ibid for further elucidation of these issues.
21. Irwin and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 9.
22. These insights derive particularly from the development of systems and more recently network approaches to the relationships of science to broader society. See for example: Hughes, T., Networks of Power; Electric Supply Systems in the US., England and Germany, 1880-1930. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA, 1983; Latour, B., Science In Action. Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1987; and Latour, B., We Have Never Been Modern. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK, 1993.
23. These insights derive particularly from the development of systems and more recently network approaches to the relationships of science to broader society. See for example: Hughes, T., Networks of Power; Electric Supply Systems in the US., England and Germany, 1880-1930. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA, 1983; Latour, B., Science In Action. Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1987; and Latour, B., We Have Never Been Modern. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK, 1993.
24. These insights derive particularly from the development of systems and more recently network approaches to the relationships of science to broader society. See for example: Hughes, T., Networks of Power; Electric Supply Systems in the US., England and Germany, 1880-1930. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA, 1983; Latour, B., Science In Action. Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1987; and Latour, B., We Have Never Been Modern. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK, 1993.
25. Ibid (all); See also Shackley et al., op cit, Ref. 5; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
26. Ibid (all); See also Shackley et al., op cit, Ref. 5; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
27. Ibid (all); See also Shackley et al., op cit, Ref. 5; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
28. World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987.
29. Smithson, M., Ignorance and uncertainty: emerging paradigms. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1989, p. 307.
30. For an outline and overview see Healy, S. A., Pollution, the management of uncertainty and sustainable development. Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Pollution (ICEP.3), Budapest, Vol. 1, April, 1996, pp. 77-84.
31. Smithson, op cit, Ref. 19.
32. Wynne, B., Uncertainty and environmental learning. In Clean Production Strategies: developing preventive environmental management in the industrial economy, ed. T. Jackson. London, Lewis Publishers, 1993.
33. Funtowicz, S. O. and Ravetz, J. R., Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy, Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic, 1990.
34. Smithson, op cit, Ref. 19, p. 6.
35. Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22.
36. Weinberg, A. M., Science and trans-science. Minerva, 1972, 10(2), 209-222; Jasanoff, S. S., Contested boundaries in policy-relevant science. Social Studies of Science, 1987, 17, 195-230; Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
37. Weinberg, A. M., Science and trans-science. Minerva, 1972, 10(2), 209-222; Jasanoff, S. S., Contested boundaries in policy-relevant science. Social Studies of Science, 1987, 17, 195-230; Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
38. Weinberg, A. M., Science and trans-science. Minerva, 1972, 10(2), 209-222; Jasanoff, S. S., Contested boundaries in policy-relevant science. Social Studies of Science, 1987, 17, 195-230; Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
39. Weinberg, A. M., Science and trans-science. Minerva, 1972, 10(2), 209-222; Jasanoff, S. S., Contested boundaries in policy-relevant science. Social Studies of Science, 1987, 17, 195-230; Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
40. Funtowicz, S. O. and Ravetz, J. R., The emergence of post normal science. In Science, Politics and Morality, ed. R. Von Schomberg. Kluwer Academic, London, 1993.
41. Ibid, p. 86.
42. Funtowicz and Ravetz, op cit, 1990, Ref. 23.
43. Healy, S. A. and Handmer, J., Risk dialogue and uncertainty. RISKOM (Newsletter of the Risk Communication Network), January 1996, 1(2); Healy, S. A. and Handmer, J., Communicating uncertainty in the 'risk society'. Risk in a Modern Society: Lessons from Europe. Proceedings of the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis (Europe), University of Surrey, Guildford, June 1996, pp. 543-546.
44. Healy, S. A. and Handmer, J., Risk dialogue and uncertainty. RISKOM (Newsletter of the Risk Communication Network), January 1996, 1(2); Healy, S. A. and Handmer, J., Communicating uncertainty in the 'risk society'. Risk in a Modern Society: Lessons from Europe. Proceedings of the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis (Europe), University of Surrey, Guildford, June 1996, pp. 543-546.
45. See for example, Jackson, T. (ed.), Clean Production Strategies: Developing Preventive Environmental Management in the Industrial Economy. Lewis Publishers, London, 1993, (especially Chap. 3, The precautionary principle); and Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and O'Riordan, T. and Cameron, J. (eds.), Interpreting the Precautionary Principle. Earthscan, London, 1994.
46. See for example, Jackson, T. (ed.), Clean Production Strategies: Developing Preventive Environmental Management in the Industrial Economy. Lewis Publishers, London, 1993, (especially Chap. 3, The precautionary principle); and Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and O'Riordan, T. and Cameron, J. (eds.), Interpreting the Precautionary Principle. Earthscan, London, 1994.
47. See for example, Jackson, T. (ed.), Clean Production Strategies: Developing Preventive Environmental Management in the Industrial Economy. Lewis Publishers, London, 1993, (especially Chap. 3, The precautionary principle); and Wynne, op cit, 1993, Refs. 9 and 22; and O'Riordan, T. and Cameron, J. (eds.), Interpreting the Precautionary Principle. Earthscan, London, 1994.
48. Wynne, B. and Mayer, S., How science fails the environment. New Scientist, 5 June 1993, 33-35.
49. See discussion in Chap. 6, Irwin, op cit, Ref. 10.
50. Irwin, op cit, Ref. 10; and Irwin, A., Science at the Service of the Community? The Nuffield Foundation Science Shop Initiative: A Report on the Northern Ireland Science Shop and the Merseyside Science Shop/Interchange. Nuffield Foundation, London, 1995.
51. Irwin, op cit, Ref. 10; and Irwin, A., Science at the Service of the Community? The Nuffield Foundation Science Shop Initiative: A Report on the Northern Ireland Science Shop and the Merseyside Science Shop/Interchange. Nuffield Foundation, London, 1995.
52. Vines, G., How far should we go. New Scientist, 12 February 1994, 12-13. See also Purdue, D., Framing bioTech: expert knowledge and popular opinion. Proceedings of the 4th Annual IRNES Conference, Keele University, Keele, Staffs., September 1995, pp. 110-114.
53. Vines, G., How far should we go. New Scientist, 12 February 1994, 12-13. See also Purdue, D., Framing bioTech: expert knowledge and popular opinion. Proceedings of the 4th Annual IRNES Conference, Keele University, Keele, Staffs., September 1995, pp. 110-114.
54. Vines, op cit, Ref. 35.
55. Beck, op cit, Ref. 1, p. 180.
56. Developed in parallel by Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. See especially: Giddens, A., The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford, 1990; Giddens, A., Modernity and Self Identity in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge, 1991; Beck, op cit, Ref. 1.
57. Developed in parallel by Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. See especially: Giddens, A., The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford, 1990; Giddens, A., Modernity and Self Identity in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge, 1991; Beck, op cit, Ref. 1.
58. Developed in parallel by Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. See especially: Giddens, A., The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford, 1990; Giddens, A., Modernity and Self Identity in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge, 1991; Beck, op cit, Ref. 1.
59. Beck, op cit, Ref. 1.
60. Beck, op cit, Ref. 1, p.47.
61. Beck, op cit, Ref. 1, Chap. 7.
62. Wynne, B., May the sheep safely graze? A reflexive view of the expert-lay knowledge divide. In Risk, Environment and Modernity - Towards a New Ecology, eds. S. Lash, B. Szerszynski and B. Wynne. Sage, London, 1996.
63. See Latour, op cit, 1993, Ref. 16 for a classic text that critically examines this divide within a framework that fundamentally questions assumptions underlying the concept of modernity.
64. Shackley and Wynne, op cit, Ref. 8.
65. See Beck, U., World risk society as a cosmopolitan society? Ecological questions in a framework of manufactured uncertainties. Theory, Culture and Society, (in press) for an interesting discussion of 'reflexive/constructivist realism' that correlates with the concerns of this article. For an attempt at such dialogue from a realist perspective see Vincenti, W. G., The technical shaping of technology: real-world constraints and technical logic in Edison's electrical lighting system. Social Studies of Science, 1995, 25, 553-574.
66. See Beck, U., World risk society as a cosmopolitan society? Ecological questions in a framework of manufactured uncertainties. Theory, Culture and Society, (in press) for an interesting discussion of 'reflexive/constructivist realism' that correlates with the concerns of this article. For an attempt at such dialogue from a realist perspective see Vincenti, W. G., The technical shaping of technology: real-world constraints and technical logic in Edison's electrical lighting system. Social Studies of Science, 1995, 25, 553-574.
67. This is increasingly the case as public mistrust is cultivated by controversies such as that surrounding BSE that highlight the political use of scientific knowledge. This mistrust is today generally accepted by a lay population accustomed to debates between expert and counter expert on everything from the disposal of oil platforms to legal forensic evidence and can be interpreted as affirmation of the risk society.