Nisbet article

Nisbet and Mooney offer some advice when trying to convince the general public of the scientific stand on such controversial topics as stem cell research. They suggest that just using Logos is not enough to convince the public, “as research shows that people are rarely well enough informed or motivated to weigh competing ideas and arguments.” Instead they propose a technique they describe as “framing” where one focuses on “central ideas, defining a controversy to resonate with core values and assumptions.” This is supposed to simplify the issue for the audience, enabling a previously indifferent person to find value in the controversy. I feel that the audience for this article must be an educated one (maybe only scientists and those involved in the funding of certain studies), as the description of their tactics as “Orwellian” implies manipulation of the facts in order to control the public.

Personally, I find the last line disturbing. I agree that the general public may be ignorant of the technical aspects of scientific research, but to go so far as to suggest that scientists should go against their ethical code seems almost a step in the wrong direction. A scientist’s role has been to elucidate the public on the hidden secrets of the universe, not to skew the public’s perception of the natural world. If anything, there are public relations specialists qualified enough to manage the campaign of this distorted message, and scientists should maintain a separation from the propaganda and their work in order to maintain academic integrity.