Post-normal science and ecological economics: strategies for precautionary approaches and sustainable development

Psycho-social disruption, information disorder, and the politics of wind farming

“…The problem is compounded as uncertainties can appear different to people in different social positions who are likely to fear different consequences, or coming from different disciplines with different theory dependencies. Consequently, the Committee members and decision makers were faced with conditions of 'strong uncertainty,' as is common in ecological and economic fieldsalthough often neglected in the latter (Aslaksen et al 2013), or "improperly translated into quantifiable risks and managed through the tools of statistical analysis and numerical simulation" (Benessia & Funtowicz 2015: 338).…”

“…However, just as the only alternative to total certainty is not total uncertainty, so the inadequacies of expert knowledge does not mean total ignorance is advantageous, but it may well be advantageous to be aware of our likely ignorance and uncertainty when faced with complexity and information disorder. The suggestion of postnormal science theorists (Aslaksen et al 2013) that we should extend the peer review community beyond those who are specialists in the field, while drawing in other views, is unlikely to solve the problems of (dis)informational social conflict, because that conflict is already socially based and part of communication.…”