Chapter 9. The political use of science
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Mauro Stenico
Abstract
From 1927 Stalin imposed several restrictions on scientific community, as well as the ideological distinction between ‘progressive’ and ‘bourgeois’ science. Dialectical materialism became a dogma for Soviet astronomy: only the cosmological model of an infinite and eternal Universe seemed to be really ‘scientific’, since it appeared to exclude God. Claiming a beginning of space and time, the Big Bang theory was generally interpreted as a ‘bourgeois’ invention supporting creationism. Ideological influence on cosmology increased after 1945. The situation changed with Stalin’s death (1953), when Soviet astronomers undertook a serious confrontation with Western cosmology. My aim is to expose the strategies used by the Stalinian astronomy to oppose Western cosmology and the aspects of the new debate with it after 1953.
Abstract
From 1927 Stalin imposed several restrictions on scientific community, as well as the ideological distinction between ‘progressive’ and ‘bourgeois’ science. Dialectical materialism became a dogma for Soviet astronomy: only the cosmological model of an infinite and eternal Universe seemed to be really ‘scientific’, since it appeared to exclude God. Claiming a beginning of space and time, the Big Bang theory was generally interpreted as a ‘bourgeois’ invention supporting creationism. Ideological influence on cosmology increased after 1945. The situation changed with Stalin’s death (1953), when Soviet astronomers undertook a serious confrontation with Western cosmology. My aim is to expose the strategies used by the Stalinian astronomy to oppose Western cosmology and the aspects of the new debate with it after 1953.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Foreword 1
- Introduction 7
- Chapter 1. The dam project: Who are the experts? 17
- Chapter 2. Rational decisions in a disagreement with experts 35
- Chapter 3. Rethinking the notion of public 53
- Chapter 4. The expert you are (not) 71
- Chapter 5. Decisions without scientists? 87
- Chapter 6. Save the planet, win the election 109
- Chapter 7. Science and the source of legitimacy in democratic regimes 127
- Chapter 8. The ethics of communication and the Terra Terra project 145
- Chapter 9. The political use of science 165
- Chapter 10. The dialectical legacy of epigenetics 185
- Index 197
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Foreword 1
- Introduction 7
- Chapter 1. The dam project: Who are the experts? 17
- Chapter 2. Rational decisions in a disagreement with experts 35
- Chapter 3. Rethinking the notion of public 53
- Chapter 4. The expert you are (not) 71
- Chapter 5. Decisions without scientists? 87
- Chapter 6. Save the planet, win the election 109
- Chapter 7. Science and the source of legitimacy in democratic regimes 127
- Chapter 8. The ethics of communication and the Terra Terra project 145
- Chapter 9. The political use of science 165
- Chapter 10. The dialectical legacy of epigenetics 185
- Index 197
