Trust is not “deserved”, but hard-won – and easily lost. In the US and the UK, and beyond, scientists lament the apparent loss of public trust in knowledge and expertise.
Are we really losing public trust? If this is the case, what are we going to do about it?
Trust is often given to scientists automatically. Scientists get on with their work without much public questioning or scrutiny. When society does question science it can come as a shock to the scientific community, resulting in a defensive and unreceptive reaction rather than a considered response. Is this causing us to lose the fragile, automatic trust we have? How can we change public trust of science from instinctive trust to a trust strengthened by discussion and debate?
We need to expand our toolset – to go beyond the scientific method and domain of facts we’re comfortable with – and learn to understand and engage with the real forces behind attitudes, behaviours, decision-making… and trust.
Professor Sir John Holman, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Allison Campbell, Immediate Past President of the American Chemical Society and Professor Thisbe Lindhorst, Immediate Past President of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker are cosponsoring this special symposium on public communication and trust. They are inviting discussion and debate on how the learned societies can enable chemists across the world to confidently engage with these challenging topics.
Are we really losing public trust? If this is the case, what are we going to do about it?
Trust is often given to scientists automatically. Scientists get on with their work without much public questioning or scrutiny. When society does question science it can come as a shock to the scientific community, resulting in a defensive and unreceptive reaction rather than a considered response. Is this causing us to lose the fragile, automatic trust we have? How can we change public trust of science from instinctive trust to a trust strengthened by discussion and debate?
We need to expand our toolset – to go beyond the scientific method and domain of facts we’re comfortable with – and learn to understand and engage with the real forces behind attitudes, behaviours, decision-making… and trust.
Professor Sir John Holman, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Allison Campbell, Immediate Past President of the American Chemical Society and Professor Thisbe Lindhorst, Immediate Past President of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker are cosponsoring this special symposium on public communication and trust. They are inviting discussion and debate on how the learned societies can enable chemists across the world to confidently engage with these challenging topics.
