What could scientists do about ‘post-truth’?

Butler-Adam, John

doi:10.17159/sajs.2017/a0195

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…At the same time, appreciation of the value of science and therefore support for science globally, including in South Africa, is often fragile. 1 Here we argue that urgent transformation of fundamental attitudes in South African science is required to make it more relevant, appreciated and available for addressing modern-world challenges in the country, in Africa and beyond.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science in the service of society: Is marine and coastal science addressing South Africa’s needs?

Cochrane¹,

Sauer²,

Aswani³

2019

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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The modern world is confronted with many and diverse social and environmental challenges of high complexity. In South Africa, rapid and sustainable development is needed to address high levels of poverty and unemployment but this development has to take place in the context of an environment that is already severely impacted by human activities. Sound and relevant scientific input and advice, covering the full scope of each challenge, is essential for effective decisions and actions to address the needs. South Africa has the benefit of strong scientific capacity but the country’s National Development Plan reported that national research priorities were not always consistent with South Africa’s needs. We investigate the validity of that conclusion in the coastal and marine sciences by examining presentations made at the 2017 South African Marine Science Symposium on the theme of ‘Unlocking the ocean’s economic potential whilst maintaining social and ecological resilience’. Despite the theme, only 21% of the presentations were judged to be actionable and directly relevant to societal needs, as defined by the criteria used. Less than 7% were evaluated as being interdisciplinary within the natural sciences and approximately 10% were found to include both natural and human sciences. Poor representation by the human sciences was also noteworthy. This preliminary assessment highlights the need for an urgent review of the disciplinary representation and approaches in marine and coastal science in South Africa in the context of the priority practical needs of the country now and into the future. Significance: • Despite the urgent need for integrated scientific input and advice to guide responsible and sustainable national development, a preliminary snapshot of marine and coastal science in South Africa demonstrated a low regard for direct relevance and inter- and multidisciplinarity. • If these general results are verified by a more comprehensive review, urgent realignment of funding and incentives for marine and coastal science, and probably environmental science in general, is likely to be required to ensure science provides a greater service to society, which is the source of much of the country’s research funding.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science in the service of society: Is marine and coastal science addressing South Africa’s needs?

Cochrane¹,

Sauer²,

Aswani³

2019

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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“…But the term post‐truth suggests that previously truth was taken more seriously, whereas now this is not the case. The very expectation that the truth matters has become problematic (Butler‐Adam, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research paradigms and the politics of nursing knowledge: A reflective discussion

Nairn

2019

Nursing Philosophy

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A standard view would suggest that research is a neutral apolitical activity. It neutralizes external pressures by its fidelity to robust scientific methods. However, politics is an inevitable part of human knowledge. Our knowledge of the world is always mediated by human priorities. What matters is therefore a contested and political debate rather a neutral accumulation of factual data. How researchers manage this varies. Research paradigms are one way in which research engages with knowledge. They frame knowledge within epistemological and ontological philosophies. In this paper, I will explore this view in relation to neo‐positivism, qualitative research, Foucault and critical realism. I will argue that if nursing knowledge is to be effective it needs to acknowledge the political, particularly in the context of neoliberalism. Healthcare systems are having to cope with a social world increasingly dominated by market fundamentalism, extreme levels of inequality and a rise in xenophobia. These forces are undermining the provision of ethically sound health care, misdirecting research practice and contributing to a discourse of dehumanization. These forces need to be challenged politically and I will argue that epistemologically diverse approaches, alongside a realist ontology can provide a way forward for nursing research.

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“…To offer some potential solutions to these “post-truth” problems, Butler-Adam (2017) emphasized the role of academia and universities in becoming more active in fighting post-truth and untrustworthy data. It could be productive to continuously deconstruct the nature of post-truth(s) or question post-truth assumptions, to arrive at alternative conclusions and productive possibilities of our post-truth era.…”

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confidence: 99%

Productive Forces of Post-Truth(s)?

Koro‐Ljungberg

Carlson

Montana

2018

Qualitative Inquiry

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Despite efforts to re-establish epistemological order, a litany of fake websites, media misrepresentation, “rumor bombs,” hoaxes, fake news, plagiarisms, and fabricated subjects document the emergence of a post-truth era. Increasing amount of scholarship is shared and distributed in media and thus the truth-value of (qualitative) inquiry also depends on the general discourses and practices operating in this contemporary post-truth era. Although critical thought is prized as the vehicle for advancing understandings, the scholarly literature does little to critically deconstruct the nature of post-truth(s) or question post-truth assumptions, to arrive at alternative conclusions and productive possibilities of our post-truth era. Following many poststructuralist thinkers, we then seek a deconstructive approach that first exposes and then subverts our implicit assumptions and dominant ways of thinking about truth, un-truth, and post-truth. In particular, we first consider broad conditions that shaped post-truth, while focusing on social media as a means and an ends to our obsession over “truth.” To destabilize post-truth assumptions, we then introduce mental comfort stories and critically question whether a pre-truth world ever existed. Next we discuss limitations of truth-regimes, academia, “truth” carnivals, and truth telling. Finally, we consider heterotopic spaces, such as social media, in leveraging onto-epistemological possibilities of post-truth era. To speak to the methodological audiences more broadly we call for a different space for (non)methodologies, theories, subjects, and objects in parallel flux with the complex, unpredictable, and increasingly dense post-truth world we live in.

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What could scientists do about ‘post-truth’?

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Science in the service of society: Is marine and coastal science addressing South Africa’s needs?

Science in the service of society: Is marine and coastal science addressing South Africa’s needs?

Research paradigms and the politics of nursing knowledge: A reflective discussion

Productive Forces of Post-Truth(s)?

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