Selective Ignorance and Agricultural Research

Bibliographic Data

ID5337474
AuthorsKevin C Elliott (0000-0003-3397-7849, University of South Carolina, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume38
Issue3
Pages328-350
Publication date2013-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243912442399
OpenAlexW2154793682
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited31

Scholars working in science and technology studies have recently argued that we could learn much about the nature of scientific knowledge by paying closer attention to scientific ignorance. Building on the work of Robert Proctor, this article shows how ignorance can stem from a wide range of selective research choices that incline researchers toward partial, limited understandings of complex phenomena. A recent report produced by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development serves as the article's central case study. After arguing that the forms of selective ignorance illustrated in cases like this one are both socially important and difficult to address, I suggest several strategies for responding to them in a socially responsible manner

Agriculture · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Ignorance · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Engineering · Genetically Modified Organisms Research · Philosophy · Zoonotic diseases and public health

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