当代西方社会的科学平民主义:一种新的科学文化现象

Scientific-related Populism in Contemporary Western Society:A New Scientific Culture Phenomenon

大量调查表明,西方社会普遍面临严峻的科学平民主义挑战,特别是在一些公众参与程度高、社会伦理影响深远、涉及信任和透明度的争议性科学议题方面,如环境与气候、生命与医学、数据与人工智能等。个体层面的科学平民主义态度可能受到年龄、性别、教育程度、族裔、政治倾向、科学兴趣和媒介接触等诸多个体因素的影响。社会层面的科学平民主义心态则可能受到科学政治化和商业化、普通公众与科学精英的关系、专家言论的异质性等社会因素的影响。近年来,中国社会也出现科学平民主义苗头,主要体现为专家信任危机。然而,中西社会的科学平民主义在焦点领域、针对对象、政治关系和传播媒介等方面存在差异。未来需要谨慎考虑不同语境下相似概念的不同内涵,积极探索经典理论与新兴现象之间的解释性关联,合理防范和应对科学平民主义可能带来的负面影响。

Numerous surveys indicate that western societies are generally facing significant challenges related to scientific-related populism,especially in contentious scientific issues that involve high levels of public engagement,profound ethical implications,and issues of trust and transparency.These issues include environmental and climate matters,matters of life and medicine,data and artificial intelligence,and more.Individual attitudes towards scientific-related populism may be influenced by various personal factors,including age,gender,education level,political ideology,ethnicity,scientific interests,and media exposure.Societal attitudes towards scientific-related populism may be shaped by factors such as the politicization and commercialization of science,the relationship between the general public and scientific elites,and the diversity of expert opinions.In recent years,there have also been signs of scientific-related populism emerging in Chinese society,primarily manifested in a crisis of trust in experts.However,there are differences between Chinese and western societies in terms of the focal areas,target subjects,political dynamics,and communication media associated with scientific-related populism.In the future,it will be essential to carefully consider the varying connotations of similar concepts in different contexts,actively explore explanatory connections between classical theories and emerging phenomena,and prudently anticipate and address the potential negative consequences that scientific-related populism may bring about.