Gloria Origgi Explores Trust in Science in the UNESCO Podcast ‘The Policy Nerd’
PERITIA researcher Gloria Origgi, philosopher and Director of Research at the CNRS in Paris, participated in the latest episode of the podcast ‘The Policy Nerd’, organised by the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab and hosted by UNESCO’s expert Iulia Sevciuc.
The discussion explores how science is a form of power and the role of public trust in it. The conversation revolves around the links of trust in science to policy, the need to embrace the trend of knowledge democratization, as well as some recommendations on how to improve public trust in science and policy.
From the Ivory Tower to Glass Houses
The first part of the podcast delves into the definition of trust in science as a particular form of trust that involves an asymmetry between the two parties – the public and the experts. The discussion reveals how the public needs to adopt a position of vulnerability in relation to science. Other aspects making this relationship difficult is the low levels of public trust in political and media institutions.
The second part explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the relation of citizens with expertise, tackling issues such as the over-reliance on and over-exposure of the public to science, or the mistakes in communication and crisis management during the crisis.
In the final part, the PERITIA researcher proposes some recommendations to experts and policymakers on ways to make the policy-expertise ecosystem more transparent to the public and how to help the public better identify trustworthy expertise.
Social Indicators of Trust in Science
Gloria Origgi’s work focuses on issues of trust, reputation, and social dimensions of knowledge. In PERITIA, she leads the research on the role of social indicators of experts’ trustworthiness. Her latest publication with PERITIA is “Stakes of Knowing the Truth: A Motivational Perspective on the Popularity of a Controversial Scientific Theory”, co-authored by Tiffany Morisseau, and T. Y. Branch.
