The Paradox of Public Knowledge in Environmental Sociology

Abstract

The problem of public knowledge is rooted in the tension between technocracy and populism. Public knowledge is important to the proper functioning of democracy, but knowledge associated with the public is frequently dismissed and devalued in policy-making contexts. Because encounters between democracy and expertise are a common part of environmental politics and environmental discourse, the problem of public knowledge is endemic to environmental sociology. The first section of this chapter draws on political theory to explore how and why public knowledge is important for democracy. The second section draws on the philosophy of science as well as the broader field of science and technology studies (STS) to explore how and why public knowledge is devalued and dismissed. The last section briefly explores the flaws of participatory strategies that are commonly proposed as solutions to the problem of public knowledge, and concludes by suggesting that public knowledge is less contradictory if we treat “public” as a role rather than a group of people.