Staying the Course: On the Value of Social Studies of Science in Resistance to the “Post-Truth” Movement
Item Type
Language
English
Abstract
Scientific knowledge has been under attack recently, especially during and from the Trump administration. This article discusses the value of research in social studies of science in relation to scientific practice and post-truth attacks on science. This literature analyzes the expert work and social values that enter into the production of evidence, the development and testing of methods, and the construction of theoretical and epistemological frames for connecting evidence, methods, and methodologies. Although researchers in this area argue that there are politics in science, this article demonstrates that their analyses of the processes of adjudicating evidence and epistemologies contribute to science. In contrast, post-truth attacks on scientific expertise exemplify a particular kind of politics aimed at supporting a particular group's political and economic interests.
Subject
Politics
Post-truth
Knowledge production
Social studies of science
Publication Title
Publication Year
2019
Publication Date
2019
Source
Wiley Online Library
License
Rights
© 2019 Eastern Sociological Society
ISSN
1573-7861
Physical Description
vol. 34, n. S1, pp. 1251-1263
Short Title
Staying the Course