Agnotology

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Agnotology or agnotology (see agnosticism , according to the Latinized form of the Greek ἀγνωστικισμός , a-gnōstikismós from ancient Greek ἀγνῶσις , a-gnō̂sis , without knowledge , without knowledge ) denotes the creation of a newer vocabulary of ignorance and investigates a direction of research that investigates the cultural creation of ignorance . Their object of knowledge is how ignorance can be created or secured through manipulation , misleading, false or suppressed information, censorship or other forms of intentional or accidental cultural-political selectivity.

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The term was introduced in the context of the US American Stanford University . There, in October 2005, a workshop was held under the title Agnotology: The Cultural Production of Ignorance , organized by the science historians Londa Schiebinger and Robert N. Proctor . In a scholarly work by Schiebinger from the same year, Proctor names it as the word creator and Agnotology as the counterweight to epistemology ; Ignorance is often not a lack of knowledge, but the result of political, cultural and commercial struggles.

For example, companies can create ignorance in the “agnotological” sense or relativize or erase existing knowledge that is detrimental to their business interests by having counter-reports prepared. Paradigmatically, Proctor has demonstrated this on the basis of studies on the harmfulness of cigarette smoking, with the industry also pointing out for decades that it was precisely the National Socialists who had campaigned against smoking.

A volume of essays co-edited with Londa Schiebinger described similar processes in the secrecy of the United States government, climate research, and the debate on genetically modified organisms.

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  1. ↑ Mechthild Bereswill , Michael Meuser , Sylka Scholz: Dimensions of the category gender: the case of masculinity. P. 147
  2. ↑ Frank Uekötter: The truth is on the field. P. 438.