Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
Soc Stud Sci. 2021 Apr;51(2):277-297. doi: 10.1177/0306312720962573. Epub 2020 Oct 17.
In this article, we introduce the concept of 'the imagined scientist'. It inverts previous discussions of the public as an imagined community with a knowledge deficit, to examine imagined scientists representing an actor (or group of actors) with deficits in knowledge or concern about social issues. We study how Norwegian science policymakers, on the one hand, and biotechnologists and nanotechnologists, on the other, articulate and engage with social responsibility. The article identifies what we call 'deficit trouble', when there is poor alignment of the deficits of different imagined scientists, which may lead to a stalemate in the communication between science policymakers and scientists. We argue that 'the imagined scientist' can function as sensitizing concept for further studies of science governance across a range of topics, bringing into view how different deficit logics operate in science policy.
在本文中，我们介绍了“想象中的科学家”的概念。它颠覆了以往将公众视为知识匮乏的想象共同体的讨论，转而研究代表知识或对社会问题关注不足的行为体（或行为体群体）的想象中的科学家。我们研究了一方面的挪威科学政策制定者，以及生物技术专家和纳米技术专家，如何阐述和参与社会责任。本文确定了我们称之为“缺陷困境”的情况，即不同想象中的科学家的缺陷之间存在不良的一致性，这可能导致科学政策制定者和科学家之间的沟通陷入僵局。我们认为，“想象中的科学家”可以作为一个敏感概念，用于进一步研究跨一系列主题的科学治理，揭示不同的缺陷逻辑在科学政策中的运作方式。
