During this course, I had an open book exam so you can bring print out notes to the exam. If you study the summary and read the literatures, you can skip the lectures and pass the exam.
Table of Contents
Lecture 1 – Introduction.....................................................................................................2
Lecture 2 – Science in, for, and of sustainability..................................................................3
Lecture 3 – Promises and pitfalls of citizen science.............................................................4
Lecture 4 – Science & media + arts.....................................................................................6
Lecture 5 – Facts & values in nature conservation conflicts.................................................8
Lecture 6 – Compromise is not an option..........................................................................10
Lecture 7 – Climate change and biodiversity loss..............................................................11
Lecture 8,9 – Public engagement with science and technology development & Unsolicited
patient participation in health care..................................................................................14
Lecture 10 – Wrap up.......................................................................................................15
1
,Lecture 1 – Introduction
Upon the WW2, there has been a major improvement in scientific world. There has been a
lot of expectations on science.
In the 70s, people no longer believe in anything that science produce. People are no longer
convinced that a reliable outcome can be produced.
Thomas Kuhn paradigm shift (change of views in science)
There’s always a human dimension in science so the societal aspect/values play a role.
Post normal science: the application of science to public issues where facts are uncertain,
values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent
- Acknowledge the uncertainty
- Be clear about values
- Earn trust from society
o There’s always values at stake
o We can lose trust in society (ex. During corona times, should we focus to
economical or health aspects)
- Engage in dialogue with society
Science changes over time relationship science-society also changed significant role of
uncertainties
Numbers can make ppl not care (extinction) at the same time evoke high emotions (toxicity)
Characteristics of postnormal science:
- Issue drive
- Urgent issue
o Cannot wait another 10 years of research
- Polarizing issue
- Risky issue
o Cannot freely experiment
- Complex issue
o Not crystal clear what we should do or what science say
Climate change
People do not see/feel climate. We know, feel, see weather.
Unsituated risk climate change effects everywhere with different severity. Who should
take action?
People have different risk perception leads to different calculations
There is uncertainty, unpredictability, and ambiguity
- We haven’t seen what happens
- We cannot just say “let’s see what happens”
- Everyone/field will have different ways of framing a problem
Social amplification:
- Our perspective is being shaped by our social environments
Role of media:
2
, - How the media is not neutral, selective reporting/framing
Human-nature relationships: to what extent we can decide for our next generations, to
what extent we can change the earth, international politics
How to deal with the postnormal science:
- Acknowledge the uncertainty
o Explicit uncertainty is highly political
o Projection (there is still a grey area) > prediction
- Be clear about values
- Earning trust from the society
- Having a dialogue
o Expand peer community
Lecture 2 – Science in, for, and of sustainability
Science for sustainability
How has your field contributed to non-sustainable development?
- Data science: big data needs big servers and computers
- Physics: nuclear energy (the knowledge is needed for development but now we see
the downsides from it)
- Biology: exotic species collection
Brundtland definition: Sustainable development is development that meets the need of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Future generation
- Flows of use and depletion
- Feedback loops
- Economy as part of nature
Wood crisis in the 18th century (Holznot)
- Before fossil energy, wood was main energy source
o Charcoal, paper, technology (ships, colonization)
- Severe deforestation in entire Europe
- Sustainability thinking emerged during ecological crisis before industrialization
We need the knowledge which then allow us to think forward towards sustainability while
doing science.
Science of sustainability
Transdisciplinary sustainability science combines practical and scientific knowledge.
Thomas Kuhn: Scientific revolutions aren’t based on new evidence, but on new rules of the
game (paradigm)
- Economics: from “empty world” to the “full world” model
- Both models will use very different scientific approaches
Karl Popper: Scientific debates need to disprove one view against another
3
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