Scientocracy
Encyclopedia
Scientocracy is the practice of basing public policies on science
.
physician, is a proponent of scientocracy. In an article titled "Scientocracy: Policy making that reflects human nature," he writes, "When I talk about Scientocracy, then, I'm not talking about a world ruled by behavioral scientists, or any other kind of scientists. Instead, I am imagining a government of the people, but informed by scientists. A world where people don't argue endlessly about whether educational vouchers will improve schools, whether gun control will reduce crime, or whether health savings account
s can lower health care expenditures,... but one instead where science has a chance to show us whether vouchers, gun control laws, and health savings accounts work and, if so, under what conditions."
Bernard Boudreau, a Canadian physician, is a critic of scientocracy. He writes, "At the dawn of the 21st century, scientific dogmatism is more firmly entrenched than ever. The scientist has become the high priest of the industrial world, certifying both the academic training of new users and the relevance of types and means of production. In all areas of human discourse, scientific reasoning has the force of law. What was once a theocracy is now a 'scientocracy'". And in an article titled "Why the Scientocracy Won’t Work," Wesley J. Smith
is "critical of the trend to let 'the scientists' decide what is ethical and what our public policies should be".
Deepak Kumar, a historian, has written about the "Emergence of 'Scientocracy'" in India. Eric E. Johnson has written about "Scientocracy and the Need for Judicial Process". And Casey Luskin, in an article titled "Scientocracy Rules," worries about the influence of a "government-supported science-media-nonprofit-industrial complex", echoing Dwight Eisenhower's famous warning about the "military-industrial complex
" and the "potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power".
will find about 3,700 references to "scientocracy".
A search of the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary
yields "no results" for "scientocracy". The term scientocracy might therefore be regarded as a neologism, a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language.
(1837–1923) wrote a book titled Through the fields with Linnaeus: a chapter in Swedish history. That book was published in two volumes in 1887. In volume 1 she wrote, "His lesson in Hamburg had taught him that a novus homo must not be arrogant when he enters the society of the scientocracy, and that he must not run himself rashly against vested interests. Yet for all his poverty, Carl Linnaeus seems to have lived in intimacy with the scientocrats of Leyden—Van Royen
, Van Swieten, Lieberkuhn, Lawson, and Gronovius
." In these two sentences she uses "society of the scientocracy" and "scientocrats" to refer to groups of eminent scientists of that time.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
.
Arguments for and against
Peter A. Ubel, an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician, is a proponent of scientocracy. In an article titled "Scientocracy: Policy making that reflects human nature," he writes, "When I talk about Scientocracy, then, I'm not talking about a world ruled by behavioral scientists, or any other kind of scientists. Instead, I am imagining a government of the people, but informed by scientists. A world where people don't argue endlessly about whether educational vouchers will improve schools, whether gun control will reduce crime, or whether health savings account
Health savings account
A health savings account is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan . The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account...
s can lower health care expenditures,... but one instead where science has a chance to show us whether vouchers, gun control laws, and health savings accounts work and, if so, under what conditions."
Bernard Boudreau, a Canadian physician, is a critic of scientocracy. He writes, "At the dawn of the 21st century, scientific dogmatism is more firmly entrenched than ever. The scientist has become the high priest of the industrial world, certifying both the academic training of new users and the relevance of types and means of production. In all areas of human discourse, scientific reasoning has the force of law. What was once a theocracy is now a 'scientocracy'". And in an article titled "Why the Scientocracy Won’t Work," Wesley J. Smith
Wesley J. Smith
Wesley J. Smith is a lawyer and an award-winning author, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism. He is also a lawyer and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant for the Center for Bioethics and...
is "critical of the trend to let 'the scientists' decide what is ethical and what our public policies should be".
Deepak Kumar, a historian, has written about the "Emergence of 'Scientocracy'" in India. Eric E. Johnson has written about "Scientocracy and the Need for Judicial Process". And Casey Luskin, in an article titled "Scientocracy Rules," worries about the influence of a "government-supported science-media-nonprofit-industrial complex", echoing Dwight Eisenhower's famous warning about the "military-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
" and the "potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power".
Scientocracy as a neologism
The authors mentioned above and many others are aware of the growing trend to base public policies on science and they are referring to that trend as scientocracy. A Google searchGoogle search
Google or Google Web Search is a web search engine owned by Google Inc. Google Search is the most-used search engine on the World Wide Web, receiving several hundred million queries each day through its various services....
will find about 3,700 references to "scientocracy".
A search of the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
yields "no results" for "scientocracy". The term scientocracy might therefore be regarded as a neologism, a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language.
An earlier use of the term scientocracy
Florence CaddyFlorence Caddy
Florence Caddy was an English writer.She was born in Middlesex, England 1837, as Florence Tompson. She married John Turner Caddy in 1857 in London and had five children, John Francis in 1857, Florence in 1863, Arnold in 1866, Hermione Helena in 1869 and Adrian in 1879...
(1837–1923) wrote a book titled Through the fields with Linnaeus: a chapter in Swedish history. That book was published in two volumes in 1887. In volume 1 she wrote, "His lesson in Hamburg had taught him that a novus homo must not be arrogant when he enters the society of the scientocracy, and that he must not run himself rashly against vested interests. Yet for all his poverty, Carl Linnaeus seems to have lived in intimacy with the scientocrats of Leyden—Van Royen
Adriaan van Royen
Adriaan van Royen was a Dutch botanist. He was a professor at Leiden University and is associated with Carl Linnaeus....
, Van Swieten, Lieberkuhn, Lawson, and Gronovius
Jan Frederik Gronovius
Jan Frederik Gronovius was a Dutch botanist notable as a patron of Linnaeus....
." In these two sentences she uses "society of the scientocracy" and "scientocrats" to refer to groups of eminent scientists of that time.
Further reading
- Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum (2009). Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future. Basic BooksBasic BooksBasic Books is a book publisher founded in 1952 and located in New York. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history.-History:...
; New York City, N.Y. ISBN 978-0465013050