{"id":229167,"date":"2023-02-28T20:10:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=229167"},"modified":"2023-02-28T20:10:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:40:30","slug":"we-need-to-democratically-reimagine-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/we-need-to-democratically-reimagine-science\/","title":{"rendered":"We need to democratically reimagine science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cWe need to democratically reimagine science\u201d <\/strong>published in The Hindu <\/strong>on 28th February 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS3- Science and Technology<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Issues related to science knowledge system<\/p>\n

News-<\/strong> Last week, an article in a mainstream publication claimed that the \u2018shivling\u2019 was proof that sages in ancient India knew of the existence of protons and electrons and that their knowledge had been forgotten because they didn\u2019t use the same words that western scholars did.<\/p>\n

What are issues faced by science today?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Two extreme positions are followed in the knowledge system.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Scientism<\/strong>– There are attempts to rationalise the validity of knowledge organised in some non\u00adscience system according to the tenets of science.<\/li>\n
  2. Pseudoscience<\/strong>– To avoid the accusation of pseudoscientific approach<\/strong>, some are championing scientism. It is the claimed superiority of science and scientific knowledge. It excludes other equally legitimate experiences of reality.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The supporters of these two extreme positions<\/strong> are unable to imagine other, better alternatives <\/strong>to a world in which science and non\u00adscience are at cross purpose to each other<\/p>\n

    Sometimes to prove the claims of scientific approach, something vaguely scientific<\/strong> is preferred over other empowering alternatives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Response to COVID\u00ad19 was delayed by waiting for evidence in case of scientific studies. This happens when science is understood as a totalising system<\/strong> that has the superpower to transform all ignorance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Our pursuit of the scientific image<\/strong> is endangering the real image<\/strong> of the world.<\/p>\n

    Science has an androcentrism problem that prefers masculinist viewpoint<\/strong>. It has privileged some learning ecologies<\/strong> over others. It has shaped the way scientists decide which questions to ask about the world, and how scientific achievement is defined and rewarded.<\/p>\n

    What is the way forward to improve the knowledge system related to science?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    There is need for more humanity scholars who can take a critical yet informed view of<\/strong><\/p>\n

    science <\/strong>from the outside. It must involve people who have evolved their own ways to produce and organise knowledge based on observation and experience<\/strong>, including Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n

    There is a need for a cultural shift <\/strong>where scientific facts are not considered to be rationally superior to a traditional observation based knowledge system.<\/p>\n

    There is a need for better science literacy<\/strong> that isn\u2019t founded on the idea that the \u2018scientific image\u2019 is inherently more desirable.<\/p>\n

    We need to systematically examine our misinterpretation of, \u2018scientific temper\u2019<\/strong>. For a democratic imagination<\/strong> of science, there should be systematic criticism of scienc<\/strong>e.<\/p>\n

    HSS studies should be included as part of science education in schools, colleges and universities. Where this faculty already exists, it should be integrated into the core curriculum <\/strong>instead of letting it operate on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

    Educational institutes should incorporate disciplines such as history of science and science and technology studies<\/strong>. Here, students should critically engage with the practice of science itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Source– The post is based on the article \u201cWe need to democratically reimagine science\u201d published in The Hindu on 28th February 2023. Syllabus: GS3- Science and Technology Relevance: Issues related to science knowledge system News- Last week, an article in a mainstream publication claimed that the \u2018shivling\u2019 was proof that sages in ancient India knew… Continue reading We need to democratically reimagine science<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[216,10498],"class_list":["post-229167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":4,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1699332555},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}