This blog is a class project for participants in Public Health 717-Emerging Public Health Issues, a graduate course at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The topics of this blog are inspired by corresponding chapters in Doubt is Their Product (Oxford University Press, 2008) edited by David Michaels. Each class participant will blog about a topic and each participant will also comment on the contributions of other class participants. This blog will be active from February through May of 2010, and the public is encouraged to post comments.
Unlike the modern era where science was increasingly recognized as a source of answers for life’s most difficult questions, the postmodern era dilutes the influence of science with competing influence of communication and communication technology,broader participation in societal decisions, the power of concentrated wealth, and the outcomes of political contests. Decisions about health care, abortion, embryonic stem cells, environmental protection, and other health issues will not be scientific—instead these decisions emerge under the influence of messages delivered by new types of communication technology to participants far beyond the knowledgeable scientific elite. Political contests that are heavily influenced by wealthy interests are more likely to define how social institutions understand truth and reality in the postmodern era.
The blog posts that follow this introduction will explain specific examples of how powerful groups have introduced doubt about science as a way to protect their interests. Can you think of an example where science has been trumped by popularized misunderstanding?
Unlike the modern era where science was increasingly recognized as a source of answers for life’s most difficult questions, the postmodern era dilutes the influence of science with competing influence of communication and communication technology,broader participation in societal decisions, the power of concentrated wealth, and the outcomes of political contests. Decisions about health care, abortion, embryonic stem cells, environmental protection, and other health issues will not be scientific—instead these decisions emerge under the influence of messages delivered by new types of communication technology to participants far beyond the knowledgeable scientific elite. Political contests that are heavily influenced by wealthy interests are more likely to define how social institutions understand truth and reality in the postmodern era.
The blog posts that follow this introduction will explain specific examples of how powerful groups have introduced doubt about science as a way to protect their interests. Can you think of an example where science has been trumped by popularized misunderstanding?
