By: Theodore Brown

Theodore Brown — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:37:31 +0000

It is indeed extraordinary that the role of science in the executive branch has fallen so far. There was a time long ago when science advice was seriously considered in the president’s office. What went wrong? I think this is more than just the Bush administration’s failure to allow science a voice in decision-making. Science just doesn’t get into the mix of decision-making across the board, not only in agencies and administration policies, but in the workings of congress.
One could suppose that it is just the case that the considerations raised by looking at issues from a scientific perspective – that is, by considering the consequences of decisions in terms of their likely effects in the real, physical world, as seen in the light of scientific judgments – takes a backseat to political considerations, particularly short-term ones. That would suggest that at least the underlying science is being considered and put aside as a political matter. The more depressing alternative is that scientific considerations are not put into play because there is no sense of their significance, no sense of the implications. Along with this is the general anti-intellectual perspective that scientists are part of an elite that is not really in touch with or relevant to the everyday affairs of society. To scientists and friends of science this seems the height of irrationality; my god, we live in a world dominated by the effects of science and technology, how can it be possible to ignore science in making important decisions affecting all of society? But altogether too many citizens of this country have little or no understanding of science, no means of connecting science and technology research with outcomes that affect their lives, no way of viewing the things going on around them in terms of rational analysis that might include scientific considerations. We are paying the price for our society’s slide into a two-culture world of those who know how the world works and who possess the intellectual tools to deal with issues, and those who lack all of his. In this world, science is a source of much stuff, but as a social force it lacks authority, either epistemic or moral. Susan Jacoby’s new book is perhaps a bit too mordant on the issues of modern-day anti-intellectualism, but she does touch upon the core issues. When the people are ignorant and misinformed, what can we expect of the politicians they elect?

Comments on: All the President’s Scientists

By: Theodore Brown