Invisibilizing politics: Accepting and legitimating ignorance in environmental sciences

Abstract

Although sociologists have explored how political and economic factors influence the formation of ignorance in science and technology, we know little about how scientists comply with external controls by abandoning their prior research and leaving scientific innovations incomplete. Most research in science and technology studies (STS) on ignorance has relied on structural and historical analyses, lacking in situ studies in scientific laboratories. Drawing on ethnographic research, this article examines the habitus of ignorance as a mechanism of the social production of ignorance. Scientists have a set of dispositions that establish practical contexts enabling them to ignore particular scientific content. Leaders of the organization repeatedly legitimate the abandonment of unfinished projects, while ordinary laboratory scientists internalize the normalized view that the scientific field is inherently opportunistic and that unfunded research should be left undone. A cycle of legitimation and acceptance of ignorance by actors at distinctive positions within the organization provides a mechanism of social control of scientific knowledge. As the mechanism is habitually self-governed by the rules of the game of current scientific institutions, the result is an indirect, although deeply subjugating, invisible and consolidating form of political and economic domination of the scientific field.

Huertos urbanos y periurbanos horizontales-verticales para el fomento de la educación ambiental sostenible

“…Así puede promoverse el diseño, ejecución, de proyectos sostenibles en función de establecer una cultura sustentable desde lo agrícola. Vale destacar que la educación en este sentido, toma una pertinencia que permite confrontar el currículo tradicional con uno en donde se aborda desde el constructivismo social, es decir, la generación no solo de conocimientos, sino de procedimientos y técnicas en la mejora continua de la sociedad (Jeon, et al, 2019).…”

Urban development project goals and the role of professional ignorance: ambiguous policy objectives and their consequences

“…In the management studies literature, there is a renewed recognition of ignorance as a form of trained skill (Schaefer, 2019; Souleles, 2019). Jeon (2020, p. 842) refers to the “social production of ignorance,” which is “orchestrated by the power inequalities at the structural level.” For instance, the concept of strategic ignorance denotes how, e.g. institutions and organizations are capable of “deploying societal ignorance for the service of their own interest” (Jeon, 2020, p. 842).…”

“…Jeon (2020, p. 842) refers to the “social production of ignorance,” which is “orchestrated by the power inequalities at the structural level.” For instance, the concept of strategic ignorance denotes how, e.g. institutions and organizations are capable of “deploying societal ignorance for the service of their own interest” (Jeon, 2020, p. 842). On the more practical level, on the level of the interaction order (Goffman, 1983), individuals “construct, justify and secure a common perception of their world via interactions” (Jeon, 2020, p. 843) so that certain conditions are downplayed or overlooked, while other are foregrounded.…”

“…a household buying a residential home) has a detailed understanding of how creditworthiness is calculated, and yet both act on basis of such numerical information. In such situations, what is referred to as professional ignorance (Abbott, 2010), the ability to actively overlook what is in fact not known to be able to proceed, is a professional skill that guides the actor's work (Jeon, 2020; Schwarzkopf, 2020; Schaefer, 2019; Bakken and Wiik, 2018; Davies and McGoey, 2012).…”

Academic lives and cultures

“…In Jeon’s (2019) rich case, a research organization is dealing with dramatic changes in funding streams, a result of changing US political priorities with respect to renewable energy. Jeon looks at how, unable to continue with past projects, laboratory leaders justify abandoning them despite substantial investments.…”