Have the French become antiscience because of Covid-19? A political sociology of ordinary relationships with science
The Science in Dialogue seminar series explores the relationship between the sciences, highlighting connections, mutual influences and common challenges. The aim is to stimulate critical and open discussion, fostering an integrated view of knowledge and offering food for thought on the very nature of scientific research in its cultural, historical and social context. Through interdisciplinary meetings, scholars from different fields and backgrounds will discuss the role of science in the construction of knowledge and in contemporary society. Central issues such as the relationship between science and history, the impact of scientific innovations on humanistic thought, the role of scientific communication and the tensions between specialisation and interdisciplinarity will be explored. Each seminar will be an opportunity to question how science contributes not only to technical progress, but also to the understanding of the world and man. The historical-philosophical perspective, in particular, will make it possible to highlight how science is not an isolated activity, but the result of a continuous dialogue with the social, cultural and intellectual context in which it develops, offering essential tools for interpreting the challenges of the present and the future.
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Abstract
In this presentation we explore the public’s attitudes to science in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis in France. We draw on a survey conducted in the summer of 2023 specifically designed to explore the multifaceted nature of attitudes to science and their long-term trends. The analysis of this survey highlights the limitations of several commonplaces that dominate public and academic debates that are mainly grounded in the analysis of the American context. For instance, we question the idea that there is growing mistrust of science in general and that critical judgments of certain innovations, such as vaccines, reflect mistrust of the principle of scientific research. Above all, our findings, along with those of a growing body of recent work in sociology of science, call for the development of a political sociology of ordinary relationships with science.
Introduction
Massimiliano Bucchi, Università di Trento