Some episodes stay with you for a long time after their recording, and this conversation with professor Andy Stirling is one of those. We spoke in 2021, towards the tail-end of the corona pandemic when I (along with many others, no doubt) was grappling with the question of how responses to the situation could be informed by science while recognising the limitations and potential dangers of having Science with a capital āSā dictate social policies.
Many of the upcoming episodes this spring are about the need to negotiate between different ways of knowing, different ways of acquiring knowledge. As an avid science-lover, Andy takes us through his reasoning for why science is necessary for making decisions, but not sufficient. When we ask science to make our choices for us, we forget about all the other things that we need in order to make decisions; moral values, priorities, lived experiences, intuition, among other things. At the same time, Andy recognises the obvious dangers of relativising or dismissing scientific research; his point is to be realistic about the assumptions behind and contexts surrounding scientific results.
Andy also explains how our over-reliance on the authoritative aspects of science connects to our impulsive need to meet challenges and uncertainty with control, rather than with care. The desire to engineer the desired outcome rather than creating the conditions for it to naturally unfold has been a recurring theme on this podcast and will be in upcoming episodes.
So how to we respond to social challenges and threats of ecological collapse, without getting caught in these traps? This episode begins to explore some possible ways forward. I hope you enjoy!
Ingrid
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
When our societies are faced with challenges we often call on science to provide us with the best course of action; we strive to make evidence-based decisions. But what assumptions are hiding behind this recipe for decision-making? And how can taking control of a situation reduce our capacity for responding with care? We delve back into the Forest of Thought today with Andy Stirling, Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the STEPS Centre, UK.
Andy Stirling is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex. He co-directs the STEPS Centre, which looks at social, technological and environmental pathways to sustainability. Andyās research focusses on understanding science and technology in relation to issues of power, uncertainty and diversity.
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