Knowledge Resistance: How We Avoid Insight from Others

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Why do people and groups ignore, deny and resist knowledge about societys many problems In a world of alternative facts, fake news that some believe could be remedied by factfulness, the question has never been more pressing. After years of ideologically polarised debates on the topic, this book seeks to further advance our understanding of the phenomenon of knowledge resistance by integrating insights from the social, economic and evolutionary sciences. It identifies simplistic views in public and scholarly debates about what facts, knowledge and human motivations are and what rational use of information actually means. The examples used include controversies about nature-nurture, climate change, gender roles, vaccination, genetically modified food and artificial intelligence. Drawing on cutting-edge scholarship and personal experiences of culture clashes, the book is aimed at the general, educated public as well as students and scholars interested in the interface of human motivation and the urgent social problems of today.

Reviews

'A must-read, especially in these turbulent times. An insightful approach to a complex issue.' Nazli Choucri, Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Author Bio

Mikael Klintman is Professor of Sociology at the University of Lund, Sweden, Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Wallenberg Fellow of Environment and Sustainability at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology