Thesis ID: CBB001562723

Expertise and the Disunity of Science: A Case Study in the Difficulties of Providing Expert Advice for Policy (2011)

unapi

VandeWall, Holly R. (Author)


University of Notre Dame


Publication Date: 2011
Physical Details: 191 pp.
Language: English

This dissertation considers the epistemic problem of adapting expert knowledge to an established political goal. Its particular focus is the failure of scientific and technical experts in different fields to effectively communicate across their disciplinary boundaries in order to provide coherent advice. The information needed to meet the goals of environmental policy is rarely limited to the domain of any individual scientific discipline or technical field. Each discipline has its own technical language, experimental procedures, problem solving strategies, exemplars, scale of application, factors that are included in models, factors which are considered exogenous to models, and background assumptions - all elements of what might be termed the "cognitive map" of a discipline. Because experts produce knowledge within the context of their field's cognitive map, and these cognitive maps vary greatly between disciplines, there are significant epistemological difficulties involved in the provision of interdisciplinary expertise for policy purposes. Using the Clean Water Act as a case study, I will argue that these epistemic divisions between different disciplines are an important part of the reason why a group of technical advisors who are honest, competent, attempt to be objective, and have similar goals for the policy can still manage to fail to communicate, or even to have productive disagreements about the technical advice they provide to lawmakers. I will also explore the extent to which a philosophy of epistemic mediation might be possible; making some suggestions of how philosophers of science might help not only to clarify but also to bridge some of the divides between disciplinary fields of expertise.

...More

Description Cited in ProQuest Diss. & Thes. : doc. no. 3441761.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001562723/

Similar Citations

Article Egan, Michael; (2012)
Barry Commoner's Place in History (/isis/citation/CBB001320460/)

Article Gupta, Joyeeta; (2010)
A History of International Climate Change Policy (/isis/citation/CBB001221294/)

Book Ramses Delafontaine; (2015)
Historians as Expert Judicial Witnesses in Tobacco Litigation: A Controversial Legal Practice (/isis/citation/CBB819121205/)

Article Lave, Rebecca; Doyle, Martin; Robertson, Morgan; (2010)
Privatizing Stream Restoration in the US (/isis/citation/CBB001034682/)

Article Lynch, Michael; (2006)
From Ruse to Farce (/isis/citation/CBB000780206/)

Article Wellock, Thomas R.; (2010)
The Dickey Bird Scientists Take Charge: Science, Policy, and the Spotted Owl (/isis/citation/CBB001021186/)

Book Graham, Otis L., Jr; (2000)
Environmental Politics and Policy, 1960s--1990s (/isis/citation/CBB000650706/)

Book Vig, Norman J.; Faure, Michael G.; (2004)
Green Giants? Environmental Policies of the United States and the European Union (/isis/citation/CBB000830072/)

Book Mirowski, Philip; (2011)
Science-Mart: Privatizing American Science (/isis/citation/CBB001210019/)

Article Baldini, Nicola; Fini, Riccardo; Grimaldi, Rosa; Sobrero, Maurizio; (2014)
Organisational Change and the Institutionalisation of University Patenting Activity in Italy (/isis/citation/CBB001420874/)

Article Asayama, Shinichiro; Ishii, Atsushi; (2014)
Reconstruction of the Boundary between Climate Science and Politics: The IPCC in the Japanese Mass Media, 1988--2007 (/isis/citation/CBB001420057/)

Essay Review Irzik, Gürol; Kurtulmus, A Faik; (2013)
Votes and Lab Coats: Democratizing Scientific Research and Science Policy [Review Essay Number 1500174] (/isis/citation/CBB001500176/)

Thesis Christopher W. Howell; (2021)
Designer Science: A History of Intelligent Design in America (/isis/citation/CBB325390187/)

Essay Review Irzik, Gürol; Kurtulmus, A Faik; (2013)
Votes and Lab Coats: Democratizing Scientific Research and Science Policy (/isis/citation/CBB001500174/)

Essay Review Irzik, Gürol; Kurtulmus, A Faik; (2013)
Votes and Lab Coats: Democratizing Scientific Research and Science Policy [Review Essay Number 1500174] (/isis/citation/CBB001500175/)

Article Christoff, Peter; (2013)
Climate Discourse Complexes, National Climate Regimes and Australian Climate Policy (/isis/citation/CBB001320850/)

Authors & Contributors
Kurtulmus, A Faik
Irzik, Gürol
Delafontaine, Ramses
Morgan, David
Howell, Christopher
Wellock, Thomas Raymond
Concepts
Science and politics
Science and government
Public policy
Science and law
Environmental sciences
Government sponsored science
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century, early
Places
United States
Japan
Italy
Germany
France
Europe
Institutions
United States. Forest Service
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment