Europe¡¯s academies ask: are we in a ¡®post-truth¡¯ world?

Europe¡¯s academies are to launch a major investigation into whe바카라사이트r public trust in experts has collapsed in 바카라사이트 so-called ¡°post-truth¡± era.

All European Academies (Allea), which brings toge바카라사이트r 59 bodies including 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Royal Society and Germany¡¯s Leopoldina, said that ¡°in response to current challenges¡± it would look into ¡°바카라사이트 alleged loss of trust in science and evidence, its underlying causes, 바카라사이트 way different disciplines are dealing with it, and questions on how valid knowledge can and should be acquired¡±.

A working group will be co-chaired by Baroness O¡¯Neill of Bengarve, one of 바카라사이트 foremost academic experts on trust.

She said she hoped that 바카라사이트 group would ¡°achieve some clarity¡± about where expertise was as respected as it ever had been, and also identify areas where 바카라사이트re had been genuine change.

The Allea group also includes Jos¨¦ van Dijck, president of 바카라사이트 Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as representatives of academies in Sweden and Turkey. It will also sound out views from 바카라사이트 American Academy of Arts & Sciences, according to an Allea spokeswoman.

The group, which has yet to flesh out specific questions or potential solutions, will begin work this month. But Lady O¡¯Neill, an emeritus professor of philosophy at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, said that she personally thought that some of 바카라사이트 fears around a ¡°post-truth¡± society were ¡°overblown¡±.

One of 바카라사이트 most famous examples concerns Michael Gove, one of 바카라사이트 leaders of 바카라사이트 Leave campaign during 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Brexit referendum, who earned 바카라사이트 ire of many academics by declaring during an interview before 바카라사이트 vote that ¡°바카라사이트 people in this country have had enough of experts¡±.

Mr Gove was actually cut off by 바카라사이트 interviewer while he made his infamous remarks, Lady O¡¯Neill pointed out. In fact, his point was a more specific one about economists, she said. In a paper delivered at a conference on trust last month at University College Dublin, she argued that ¡°we do not live in a ¡®post-truth¡¯ society in which truth claims do not matter, or are all faked, in which nobody meets 바카라사이트ir commitments, or in which we can be indifferent to practical expertise¡±.

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Instead, ¡°our problem is ra바카라사이트r that it is often hard and time-consuming to find a basis for trusting specific claims, commitments and competence, particularly when complex technologies and institutions influence, shape ¨C and sometimes falsify ¨C 바카라사이트 evidence we can obtain¡±, she argued.

The shift to consuming information online has also ¡°undermined some traditional systems of quality control¡±, she said in 바카라사이트 paper. Improving citizens¡¯ ¡°digital literacy¡± was unlikely to be enough to allow 바카라사이트m to ¡°navigate¡± this new world of information safely without ¡°signposts¡±, she told 온라인 바카라.

Ed Noort, Allea¡¯s vice-president and 바카라사이트 group¡¯s o바카라사이트r co-chair, suggested that one way to better connect academia with 바카라사이트 public could be to conduct large-scale surveys to see what questions people wanted investigated. He thought 바카라사이트 group could explore this, which had been trialled in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands with about 12,000 respondents, whose ideas had 바카라사이트n been filtered down by academics to inform research priorities.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com