Epistemic Standards for Participatory Technology Assessment: Suggestions Based Upon Well-Ordered Science

Area of Science:

• Science and technology policy
• Public participation in science
• Citizen science frameworks

Background:

• Balancing citizen participation with informed decision-making in policy is challenging.
• Existing frameworks for science-society interactions require refinement for effective citizen engagement.
• Philip Kitcher's Well-Ordered Science provides a foundation for establishing epistemic standards in public deliberations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an epistemic standard for structuring citizen deliberations in policy-making.
• To explore the relationship between scientific significance, expertise, and citizen involvement.
• To provide recommendations for designing and assessing future citizen assessments.

Main Methods:

• Assessed various science-society relationship frameworks.
• Utilized Philip Kitcher's Well-Ordered Science framework to define epistemic standards.
• Analyzed citizen deliberations from the 2014 NASA ECAST Asteroid Initiative forums.
• Coded vignettes to determine sufficient information levels for citizen policy positions.

Main Results:

• Citizens should receive historical context on the significance of scientific questions.
• Citizens should be empowered to participate if they feel capable of weighing in.
• Sufficient information conveyance and trust in citizens' information-seeking are crucial for effective deliberation.
• Analysis of asteroid initiative forums informed the proposed standards.

Conclusions:

• An epistemic standard grounded in historical context and trust enhances citizen policy input.
• Future citizen assessments should prioritize conveying the value context of scientific issues.
• Empowering citizens to seek and use information leads to more robust policy engagement.