Where is the Boundary between Science and Politics?

Poole Gakuin University, Osaka Japan

Gentaro KATO

[email protected]

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Today ’ s presentation

• Background of the problem (a trend on STS) • Posing a critical viewpoint • Dividing ST-S (science from politics) by systems theory • Summary and further challenges 2

Background of the problem (a trend on STS)

• Linkage of science and society (natural science, including technology and society) • In particular, STS studies highlight the linkage of science and politics  (=political turn) Science in the society is seen as such Recent social demand to science is politically constructed 3

Background of the problem (the trend on STS) (2)

• Environmental issues or scientific risks : scientific issues and political issues in parallel esp. in the case that scopes on the conflict between government and public citizen  tangle of scientific and political criticism the arena of the issue overlaps on both science and politics • • both scientific experts and political experts cannot decide on their arbitrarily making public opinion on science-cum politics is needed 4

Posing a critical viewpoint

Science and politics is tightly linked  politics on scientific problems ex. science in democracy / public review of science We must divide them from discussions such as “ science plays politically ” or “ scientific knowledge is constructed politically ” We should not equate politics that deal with science as its theme, and science that can be politically talked about or scientific activities that is read in some political contexts.

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“ Science cannot be talked only by science.

”

S uch a scientific view is suitable to represent ongoing science in a way.

But what is the two “ SCIENCE ” ?

STS studies have emphasized the ST-S linkage and we have missed the boundary of them.

 ex. Consensus conference / science shop fatal flaw of STS studies 6

Ulrich Beck

Risk society (Risikogesellschaft)  a mode of reflexive modernization : society based on risk distribution fall to the world society in the same way (= world risk)  every person can be the party interested cf. proletariat release from expert system = STS ’ s argument 7

Beck ’ s subpolitics (Subpolitik)

Subpolitics : a state that each system interact and cannot keep its boundary : a non-politics realm but it can make social reform like politics Beck points out that politics become reduced.

= system ’ s dedifferentiation  We can see the linkage between science and politics in Beck we don ’ ’ s argument but we cannot find the crucial difference because t have any frames for it.

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Niklas Luhmann

Social systems theory which depend on Maturana ’ s autopoiesis.

Maturana e Varela (1980) “ Autopoiesi e cognizione Luhmann “ Soziale Systeme ” (1984) etc.

” The view of systems that is closed but open, autonomous but interpenetrating.

Luhmann can explain each system and their relations with sustaining system ’ s autonomy .

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The boundary between science and politics

Science system : devotes to true/false determination (of scientific issue) Politics system : directs to attribution of decision power Whether there is power intervention or not, science system is still the system of determining scientific truth and it never wanders from the code of true/false determination.

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The boundary between science and politics (2)

It ’ s inappropriate to organizations or groups.

assume concrete  The more detail we see an object, the more complex entanglement of systems we find.

cf. Actor Network Theory (Callon 1991 etc.)  it should not be treated on analyzing concrete objects but on semantic sphere.

The constituent elements of systems are not persons or organizations but communications which is directed to a particular code in the system.

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Summary

• STS studies (including Beck) show suitable view of today • Luhmann ’ ’ s science.

• However, they scoped on the linkage of ST&S so that they cannot the relation of ST&S in detail.

s social systems theory may enable to analyze the relation of science and society in more detail superficial analysis of the objects  functional or semantic analysis.

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(my) Future challenges

• Analysis with system trust : a pattern of trust that is to trust that the other persons trust something ex. money, medical care • social function of expert and expertise What is the condition when we trust scientific expert or expertise?

With reference to system trust, it may be that we can suggest social integration which doesn ’ t necessitate autonomic participations.

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