Introduction

Ehlers, Sarah und Esselborn, Stefan (2023): Introduction. Evidence in Action. In: Ehlers, Sarah und Esselborn, Stefan (Hrsg.): Evidence in Action between Science and Society : Constructing, Validating and Contesting Knowledge. Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, New York: Routledge. S. 1-18

Abstract

The introduction outlines the main issues, theoretical and methodical approach, and the structure of the book. Starting from the concept's newfound prominence in contemporary political debates, it briefly surveys common understandings of evidence, as well as some newer contributions on the issue. In spite of its undisputed centrality for almost all scientific and scholarly endeavors, evidence is a shifting and elusive concept, highly context-dependent, and often difficult to disentangle from political and cultural disputes. Therefore, the volume proposes to follow a praxeological approach, studying “evidence in action,” that is, as something which must be presented, enacted, and often performed in a specific situation, and is therefore produced with this very use in mind. The chapter discusses four tensions structuring the analysis—between “hard” and “soft” forms of evidence; between production and application; between stabilizing effect and subversive potential; and between trust and participation—and introduces the different case studies presented, divided in to four thematic parts. Because evidence is central to how we come to know what we know, investigating how it works in practice, the authors argue, can grant new insights into the history and the present of modern knowledge societies—up to and including present post-truth debates.

• Dokumententyp: Buchbeitrag
• Fakultätsübergreifende Einrichtungen: Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC)
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 300 Sozialwissenschaft, Soziologie
• ISBN: 978-1-003-18861-2 ; 978-1-000-61476-3 ; 978-1-000-61473-2 ; 978-1-032-03705-9 ; 978-1-032-03706-6
• Ort: New York
• Sprache: Englisch