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Taking the viewpoint that experts are consulted when there is something important at stake for an individual, a group, or society at large, this volume explores expertise as a relational concept. In order to be culturally comparative, this volume includes examples and discussions of experts in different countries and even in different time periods. The topics include the roles of political experts, scientific experts, medical experts, and legal experts.
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Experts in Science and Society This page intentionally left blank Experts in Science and Society Edited by Elke Kurz-Milcke Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia Gerd Gigerenzer Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS NEW YORK, BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW eBook ISBN: Print ISBN: 0-306-47964-8 0-306-47903-6 ©2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Print ©2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers New York All rights reserved No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written consent from the Publisher Created in the United States of America Visit Springer's eBookstore at: and the Springer Global Website Online at: http://www.ebooks.kluweronline.com http://www.springeronline.com Preface For none of those systems of thought without which we cannot do if we want to conceive of those parts of reality which are significant in each case, can possibly exhaust the infinite richness of reality. None is anything else than an attempt (…) to bring order into the chaos of those facts, which in each case we have included within the sphere of our interest. Max Weber1 Experts are called in when there is something at stake for an individual, a group, or society at large. This volume represents a multi-authored endeavor towards a nuanced understanding of the expert in modern societies. The initial impetus for bringing together the contributors to this volume came from an invitational meeting by the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science. This meeting, a Schloessmann Seminar, gathered a group of young scientists and established scholars to discuss research and research proposals pertinent to the phenomenon of The Expert in Modern Societies, Past and Present. The specific opportunity afforded by this seminar and, subsequently, this volume has been inclusiveness as regards scientific disciplines and research domains. This volume is about experts and by the same token about science, cultures, political systems, representational practices, public debate, organizations, institutions, law, ethics, modernity, risk, environmental protection, and, last but not least, about expertise. Expertise easily appears to be a personal attribute. After all, who would want to argue with the verity that experts have expertise, and are called in for their expertise? Semantics notwithstanding, the chapters in this volume demonstrate that it would be ill-advised to consider expertise merely a personal attribute, no matter how skilled, knowledgeable, and educated a person may be. Nevertheless, this volume is focused on experts and in many ways on people. We think that this choice has served the project well for advancing our understanding of expertise. A human-centered perspective on expertise brings home the actualities of experts living in particular societies, participating in particular organizations and institutions, engaging in particular practices, and thus partaking in particular cultures. We recognize that in many areas of society, especially in those related to training and education, the issue arises of how to best foster well-versed expertise. The answer is in engaging students, and we think the same must be assumed for the