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Current debates about experts are often polarized and based on mistaken assumptions, with expertise either defended or denigrated. Making Sense of Expertise instead proposes a conceptual framework for the study of expertise in order to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the role of expertise in contemporary society. Too often different meanings of experts and expertise are implied without making them explicit. Grundmann’s approach to expertise is based on a synthesis of approaches that exist in various fields of knowledge. The book aims at dispelling much of the confusion by offering a comprehensive and rigorous framework for the study of expertise. A series of in-depth case studies drawn from contemporary issues, including the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, provide the empirical basis of the author’s comprehensive approach. This thought-provoking book will be of great interests to students, instructors and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities, social sciences, and science and technology studies.
Transnational Environmental Policy analyses a surprising success story in the field of international environmental policy making: the threat to the ozone layer posed by industrial chemicals, and how it has been averted. The book also raises the more general question about the problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries and the world society as a whole. Reiner Grundmann investigates the regulations which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US and Germany.
In this book, Stehr and Grundmann outline the theoretical significance and practical importance of the growing stratum of experts, counsellors and advisors in contemporary society. They argue that these experts perform knowledge based activities that mediate between the context of knowledge creation and application. Existing approaches tend to restrict the role of the expert to scientists, or to conflate the roles of professionals with experts. In avoiding such restrictions, this book sets out a framework to understanding the growing role of expertise in a better way.
Transnational Environmental Policy analyses a surprising success story in the field of international environmental policy making: the threat to the ozone layer posed by industrial chemicals, and how it has been averted. The book also raises the more general question about the problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries and the world society as a whole. Reiner Grundmann investigates the regulations which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US and Germany.
In this book Grundmann argues that Marx's theory of human nature and his evolutionary thinking are cogent tools for understanding basic traits of industrial countries and the ecological problems they produce. He challenges the widespread belief that the development of productive forces is by itself a threat to the environment, arguing that only specific technologies, not technology as such, lead to environmental degradation. He concludes that the pursuit of productivity and the development of a healthy environment need not be mutually exclusive.
It is often said that knowledge is power, but more often than not relevant knowledge is not used when political decisions are made. This book examines how political decisions relate to scientific knowledge and what factors determine the success of scientific research in influencing policy. The authors take a comparative and historical perspective and refer to well-known theoretical frameworks, but the focus of the book is on three case studies: the discourse of racism, Keynesianism and climate change. These cases cover a number of countries and different time periods. In all three the authors see a close link between 'knowledge producers' and political decision makers, but show that the effectiveness of the policies varies dramatically. This book will be of interest to scientists, decision makers and scholars alike.
The increasing investment in scientific knowledge, in its production, distribution and reproduction, is acquiring greater social significance. Everything that is regarded as knowledge in society has become a legitimate subject matter for academic investigations from various disciplines and for practitioners.
This volume is the first systematic, comprehensive and cogent environmental political philosophy. It will be of enormous value to all those with an interest in the environment, political theory, and moral and political philosophy.
How biotechnology is changing the definition of "life."
Ethical Marxism and its Radical Critics argues that Marx's conception of human essence is the foundation for an ethic of liberation which permeates his social theory. It testifies to his significant debt to Greek philosophy and culture. Wilde examines how his humanistic ethic was developed by Marcuse and Fromm, and how it has been rejected by Habermas and Gorz. He also explores reservations expressed from feminist and ecological standpoints. The book has been revised in the light of these criticisms, and offers insights into how progress may be made towards a socialist ethical community.