The Social Uses of Scientific Knowledge of Non-Expert Activism in Controversy
A Critical Reflection on Notions of “Risk” and “Citizenship” Linked to Demarcationism and Propositionalism
Keywords:
social uses of scientific knowledge, non-expert activism, risk, citizenship, demarcationism-propositionalismAbstract
This article analyzes the uses of knowledge by non-expert activism in a socio-technical controversy opened in September 2015 around a cyanide solution spill in the Veladero mine, San Juan, Argentina. It seeks to understand the relationship between scientific and non-scientific knowledge with special emphasis on knowledge related to positionings and modes of political organization that are articulated in the social uses of knowledge. The article critically reviews aspects of demarcationism, which postulates the radical heterogeneity between scientific and other kinds of knowledge, and the propositionalism associated with demarcationism. In addition, certain conceptions of “risk” and “citizenship” are reviewed in relation to demarcationism-propositionalism.
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