The moral authority of science: Evidence from parliamentary debates in seven countries

Abstract

Relying on a neo-institutionalist framework of epistemic governance, this articleexamines the rhetorical function the term ‘science’ plays in the parliamentarydiscourse of seven countries. Our analysis confirms that ‘science’ is oftenreferred to by members of parliaments throughout the world and across allpolicy sectors. We find ample references not just to particular sciences, butalso to science in the abstract, and find hardly any contests around thementions of science beyond technical contests around the credibility of aparticular result. Our analysis reveals crucial forms of epistemic workconducted by evoking ‘science’ in the abstract. Drawing on and elaboratingDurkheim’s view of morality and the framework of epistemic governance, weargue that much of the work done by references to ‘science’ can becharacterised as building a moral authority of science.