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Knowledge, Belief and Behavior:
"The Metaphors We Live By"
T.C. Weiskel
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"We
had fed the heart on fantasies;
The heart's grown brutal from the fare."
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W. B. Yeates,
"Meditations in
Time of Civil War" |
Humans are cultural animals. What we experience
of the world is necessarily mediated through cultural categories and beliefs.
Cultural categories both enable and constrain our perception, and our
beliefs endow our experience with meaning. Understanding the cultural
components of perception is essential in order to appreciate the evolution
of climate science. Why didn't we see evidence of climate change earlier
in history? We didn't see it because we didn't believe it. In some circumstances,
belief precedes perception.
Many aspects of the changing climate seem obvious
to any observer once he or she is atuned to perceiving them. Conversely,
many other elements of the climate system or the broader ecosystem continue
to remain opaque or invisible to us if they do not appear to conform to
our "mental maps" or the cultural categories we think of as
reality. Scientific understanding about our climate can only be advanced
if we can transcend the limits of our cultural perceptions and beliefs.
The need for transcending our culture-bound beliefs
becomes particularly apparent when we consider our behavior. Collective
behavior is conditioned more by belief systems than it is by knowledge
systems. Thus if we wish to change behavior, we need to change our beliefs.
What is the link between
knowledge systems and belief systems? How do changes in our systems of
knowledge affect our beliefs? How "quickly" can belief systems
"absorb" changes in knowledge? What is the difference between
the changing content of belief and the enduring structure of belief?
In short, we need to
examine the links between knowledge, belief and behavior and ask ourselves
how might changes in our knowledge about the science of climate affect
our beliefs and behavior?
For further reading on these issues consider...
| Duncan Maxwell Anderson |
| 2004 |
"The
Emperor’s New Climate: Is Global Warming Real?," NewsMax.Com,
(16 February 2004). |
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Ask yourself
after reading this article: is "seeing" really believing?
or is it the other way around? That is, don't most people really operate
on the opposite rule of thumb: "I won't see it till I believe
it?" |
| Peter Gould, Rodney White |
| 1993 |
Mental
Maps (London, Routledge, 1993). |
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What kinds
of geophysical phenomena never get on our "mental maps"
-- not because they don't exist, but because we have learned to filter
them out. |
| George Lakoff, Mark Johnson |
| 2003 |
Metaphors
We Live By (Chicago, U. of Chicago Press, 2003). |
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What happens
to people -- or cultures -- that seem to be guided by "misplaced
metaphors?" A misplaced metaphor can be more than a problem of
grammar or syntax. It can result in a chronic and fatal misperception
of the world we live in. As George Orwell has pointed out, we need
to pay attention to our use of language. |
| T.C. Weiskel |
| 1989 |
'"While
Angels Weep..." Doing Theology on A Small Planet,' The Harvard
Divinity Bulletin, XIX, 3 (1989). |
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Who is created
in whose image? |
| T.C. Weiskel |
| 1990 |
"The
Need for Miracles in the Age of Science," The Harvard Divinity
Bulletin, , XX, 2, (Summer 1900). |
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What elements
of the received Abramic belief systems (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
need to be transcended to understand the current human condition? |
| "Selective
Perception" and Bending the Evidence -- Scientists Accuse Whitehouse
of Misusing Scientific Evidence |
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Spinning
Science
Here and Now, NPR - WBUR, Boston. (19 February 2004)
Administration has distorted scientific facts to make it fit policies
it supports. [Kurt Gottfried, UCS] |
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Richard Harris,
reports
"Scientists Accuse White House of Distortion," NPR
- All Thing Considered, (18 February 2004). |
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Shogren, Elizabeth
"White House
Accused of Science Bias: The administration has censored and suppressed
reports from U.S. agencies that don't adhere to a party line, the
group alleges," Los Angeles Times, (19 February
2004). |
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Gugliotta, Guy
and Rick Weiss
"President's
Science Policy Questioned: Scientists Worry That Any Politics Will
Compromise Their Credibility," The Washington Post,
(19 February 2004). |
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Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Scientific
Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administration’s
Misuse of Science, Union of Concerned Scientists, (18 February
2004). |
What Does it Matter if Political Figures Surpress or Manipulate
Scientific Information? |
In
this week's lecture, Professor Moomaw mentioned the recently published
article in Fortune Magazine that focuses
on the Pentagon's assessment of the danger of climate change for
national security issues. While some may think it is normal procedure
for political figures to distort, supress or manipulate science,
there can be consequences if the American public or the world at
large finds out the manipulation of science has occurred on a systematic
and sustained basis.
In
particular, there the information may not be thoroughly supressed
for ever, and if it "leaks out" the public may question
the wisdom or integrity of its leadership. The recently "leaked"
secret report of the United States Department of Defense (the Pentagon)
concerning the potential security implications of global climate
change is a case in point. Consider the escalation of the news and
discussion about climate issues in the past month from 26 January
to 22 February: |
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Week
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