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Ignorance, Uncertainty, and the Development of Scientific Language

Elliott, Kevin (2010) Ignorance, Uncertainty, and the Development of Scientific Language. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Robert Proctor has argued that ignorance or non-knowledge can be fruitfully divided into at least three categories: (1) ignorance as native state or starting point; (2) ignorance as lost realm or selective choice; and (3) ignorance as strategic ploy or active construct. This chapter explores Proctor’s second category, ignorance as selective choice. When scientists investigate poorly understood phenomena, they have to make selective choices about what questions to ask, what research strategies and metrics to employ, and what language to use for describing the phenomena. This chapter focuses especially on the selective choice of language for describing and categorizing phenomena in the face of uncertainty. Using several case studies from recent pollution research, I show that linguistic choices are especially significant when we have severely limited knowledge, because those choices can emphasize and highlight some aspects of our limited knowledge rather than others. These selective emphases can in turn influence societal decision making, and they can exacerbate the selectivity of our knowledge by further steering scientific research in some directions rather than others. I conclude with some suggestions for developing scientific language in socially responsible ways, even in the face of significant ignorance and uncertainty.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Elliott, Kevinke@sc.edu
Keywords: values; agnotology; uncertainty; value judgments; science and values; language; concepts
Subjects: General Issues > Ethical Issues
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Theory Change
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Kevin Elliott
Date Deposited: 11 Dec 2010 04:29
Last Modified: 11 Dec 2010 04:29
Item ID: 8421
Subjects: General Issues > Ethical Issues
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Theory Change
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: 9 December 2010
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/8421

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