TY - JOUR
T1 - Delusions About Evidence: On Why Scientific Evidence Should Not Be the Main Concern in Socioscientific Decision-Making
AU - Nielsen, Jan Alexis
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - This article takes issue with the widespread assumption that students’ socioscientific decisions ought to be evidence based. On the basis of a careful conceptual analysis, it is argued that it is misleading to think in terms of evidence in socioscientific decision making because such decision making is a process of deliberation in which persons distribute relative weights to multifarious and incommensurate factors—a process, that is, in which scientific evidence has no privileged role. Accordingly, science educators ought to focus on the quality with which students discuss the relative weights of different considerations about a socioscientific issue.
AB - This article takes issue with the widespread assumption that students’ socioscientific decisions ought to be evidence based. On the basis of a careful conceptual analysis, it is argued that it is misleading to think in terms of evidence in socioscientific decision making because such decision making is a process of deliberation in which persons distribute relative weights to multifarious and incommensurate factors—a process, that is, in which scientific evidence has no privileged role. Accordingly, science educators ought to focus on the quality with which students discuss the relative weights of different considerations about a socioscientific issue.
U2 - 10.1080/14926156.2013.845323
DO - 10.1080/14926156.2013.845323
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1492-6156
VL - 13
SP - 373
EP - 385
JO - Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
JF - Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
IS - 4
ER -