The significance of knowing how knowledge performs

Abstract

Scientific knowledge is performative, as it not only represents but also constitutes reality. In politically charged fields such as environmental policy and governance, science-policy interactions are often integrated into the scientific process. It is therefore important to articulate the details of how knowledge performs its power. The articulation should be sensitive to the self-reflexive character of knowledge. It makes a difference in science-policy interaction whether those who engage in the interaction know how knowledge is performative. My aim in this presentation is to develop an account of the process of science-policy interaction that recognizes the self-reflexive nature of human knowledge. I identify analogical relationships between science-policy interactions on one hand and the workings of distributed cognition in Shakespearean theatre on the other. I illustrate the account empirically by explaining the outcomes of science-policy interaction in European research policy and Finnish energy policy. The work conceptualizes an inherent dilemma in contemporary calls for socially relevant research. While research funders demand researchers to be policy relevant, the best option for researchers who understand the process of science-policy interaction may sometimes be not to intervene in policy and thus appear to be insensitive to the funders’ demands.