Agnotology

Abstract

Geographers, whether radical or not, have traditionally and justifiably been concerned with epistemology-the production of knowledge. R. Proctor’s own work provides a hugely instructive conceptual apparatus for radical geographers interested in the production of ignorance; indeed, he notes that agnotology has “a distinct and changing political geography that is often an excellent indicator of the politics of knowledge”. An agnotological approach seeks to dissect the ignorance production methods and tactics of messengers of disinformation. Agnotology helps geographers analyse ignorance as a strategic and pernicious ploy, an active construct, “not merely the absence of knowledge but an outcome of cultural and political struggle”. Ignorance takes the form of specific geographies and, when radically analysed using an agnotological approach, one can gain a closer grasp of how institutions and individuals work hard to confuse and cloud any evidence that might show us what is actually happening in particular places.