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Science is under threat. Scientists are marching to defend it against populist attacks, antiscientific sentiment, and censorship. At the same time, science is expected to solve our biggest crises - climate change, biodiversity loss, or rising social inequality - while becoming increasingly entangled with big money, technological solutionism, and promises of progress. So, what kind of science are we defending? This book takes a critical look at the dominant model of science: shaped by colonialism, imperialism, a belief in human control over nature, and economic pressures. It reveals how this model - purportedly neutral and universal - is in fact deeply political and reductionist. We ask what other forms of science we might aspire to. Bringing together decolonial, feminist, and ecological perspectives, we propose more democratic, humble, and pluralistic ways of knowing and researching the world: convivial sciences.
About the author
Ephraim Pörtner is co-executive director of Critical Scientists Switzerland. He holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Zurich. His dissertation, Re-Cording Lives, was published as a book by Transcript Verlag in 2021.Tamara Lebrecht is co-executive director of Critical Scientists Switzerland and has a Master’s in Environmental Sciences. She is currently pursuing a PhD on neglected and underutilized crop species in the Agroecological Transitions group at ETH Zurich.Critical Scientists Switzerland is a Swiss association founded in 2015 promoting responsible, reflective, and pluriversal science and research that upholds the precautionary principle and contributes to long-term ecological and societal sustainability.
Summary
Science is under threat. Scientists are marching to defend it against populist attacks, antiscientific sentiment, and censorship. At the same time, science is expected to solve our biggest crises – climate change, biodiversity loss, or rising social inequality – while becoming increasingly entangled with big money, technological solutionism, and promises of progress. So, what kind of science are we defending?
This book takes a critical look at the dominant model of science: shaped by colonialism, imperialism, a belief in human control over nature, and economic pressures. It reveals how this model – purportedly neutral and universal – is in fact deeply political and reductionist.
We ask what other forms of science we might aspire to. Bringing together decolonial, feminist, and ecological perspectives, we propose more democratic, humble, and pluralistic ways of knowing and researching the world: convivial sciences.
