In a liberal democracy, forming opinions on values is the responsibility of the citizens, who are represented in parliaments for political decisions. As far as the technical aspects of these decisions are concerned, however, very few citizens and decision-makers are in a position to obtain an overview of the current state of research on the relevant issues themselves. They are therefore dependent on receiving scientific input via the medium of expert judgement. However, experts are not always neutral, unbiased and highly reliable communicators of the current state of scientific knowledge. Experts are human beings and as such have a limited capacity for receptivity, they can draw false conclusions from the existing evidence and their recommendations can be based on private (e.g. financial, personal or political) interests and therefore not always realise the client's interests in the best possible way. This is what I call the "dilemma of expertise
Sprache der Kurzfassung:
Englisch
Vortragstyp:
Hauptvortrag / Eingeladener Vortrag auf einer Tagung