¶ … Science and the Public: Is Science Making Us More Ignorant?" Dacey (2004) calls for a systematic integration of science and culture. Dacey points out that the sciences have become segregated from other academic disciplines. Furthermore, the disparity between science and other fields has created a sad disconnection from ourselves and from the world. Science has made us ignorant because science has no cultural context, notes Dacey. Dacey proposes a new academic discipline that explores the "intersections of science and culture," and calls this emerging field Science and the Public.

Dacey is careful to distinguish Science and the Public from Public Science Literacy. Public Science Literacy focuses on communications, and how the mass media conveys scientific knowledge to the lay public. Science and the Public, on the other hand, focuses on cognition, consciousness, and culture. Formal science can and should be used to answer deep philosophical questions including the nature of the self. Dacey claims that applying science to cultural values and beliefs will help dispel ignorance. Scientific literacy depends on making science more meaningful.

Greater specialization in the sciences has been isolating laypeople, and even forcing members of the scientific community to become narrowly focused on specific theoretical frameworks. Science and the Public helps remedy the situation without detracting from the valid work of specialists. Cultural beliefs inform how individuals ask questions, and from where they seek answers. Given that so many people continue to believe in the paranormal, for instance, suggests that science is doing a poor job of answering questions about intangible or abstract issues.

Dacey explains the connections between scientific study and cultural beliefs and values with concrete examples. For example, Dacey notes how neuroscience can pinpoint the structural processes in the brain that pertain to daily decision making. Dacey also points out how cultural values inform decisions related to public funding for science and engineering projects or for biotechnology. The field of Science and the Public will not only help improve scientific literacy but it will also make science more conscious of the assumptions and values that underlie research.

Reference

Dacey, A. (2004). Science and the Public: Is Science Making Us More Ignorant?