Books by Reiner Grundmann
Climate, Science and Society: A Primer, 2024
This chapter examines the role and function of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPC... more This chapter examines the role and function of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a body which provides expertise. It starts with a discussion of the meaning of expertise and establishes a typology that defines four roles of experts: the scientist, the specialist, the advisor, and the commentator. Previous research has emphasized the roles of scientist and advisor, while other roles have been backgrounded. My argument is that we need to examine the role of commentator more closely as it provides important insights into the role of the IPCC. While the IPCC is constitutionally prevented from providing policy advice, it still has some power to define problems and solutions. It does this through metrics, models, and metaphors, which are condensed into alarming and reassuring narratives. The IPCC employs this repertoire in its public comments. The chapter traces the evolution of the IPCC and its function and discusses its limitations.
Making Sense of Expertise. Cases from Law, Medicine, Journalism, Covid-19, and Climate Change
Book, 2022
Current debates about experts are often polarized and based on mistaken assumptions, with experti... more Current debates about experts are often polarized and based on mistaken assumptions, with expertise either defended or denigrated. Making Sense of Expertise instead proposes a conceptual framework for the study of expertise in order to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the role of expertise in contemporary society.
Too often different meanings of experts and expertise are implied without making them explicit. Grundmann’s approach to expertise is based on a synthesis of approaches that exist in various fields of knowledge. The book aims at dispelling much of the confusion by offering a comprehensive and rigorous framework for the study of expertise. A series of in-depth case studies drawn from contemporary issues, including the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, provide the empirical basis of the author’s comprehensive approach.
This thought-provoking book will be of great interests to students, instructors and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities, social sciences, and science and technology studies.
The Power of Scientific Knowledge: From Research to Public Policy
It is often said that knowledge is power, but more often than not relevant knowledge is not used ... more It is often said that knowledge is power, but more often than not relevant knowledge is not used when political decisions are made. This book examines how political decisions relate to scientific knowledge and what factors determine the success of scientific research in influencing policy. The authors take a comparative and historical perspective and refer to well-known theoretical frameworks, but the focus of the book is on three case studies: the discourse of racism, Keynesianism and climate change. These cases cover a number of countries and different time periods. In all three the authors see a close link between 'knowledge producers' and political decision makers, but show that the effectiveness of the policies varies dramatically. This book will be of interest to scientists, decision makers and scholars alike.
Experts: The Knowledge and Power of Expertise
In this book, Stehr and Grundmann outline the theoretical significance and practical importance o... more In this book, Stehr and Grundmann outline the theoretical significance and practical importance of the growing stratum of experts, counsellors and advisors in contemporary society, and claim that the growing spectrum of knowledge-based occupations has led to the pluralisation of expertise.
As decision makers in organizations and private citizens, for various reasons, increasingly seek advice from experts, the authors examine the nature of expert activity, and suggest that the role of experts needs to be distinguised from other roles such as professionals, scientists, or intellectuals. Experts, they argue, perform knowledge based activities that mediate between the context of knowledge creation and application. Existing approaches tend to restrict the role of the expert to scientists, or to conflate the roles of professionals with experts. In avoiding such restrictions, this book sets out a framework to understanding the growing role of expertise in a better way.
Experts provides thought-provoking discussion that will be of interest to postgraduate students and academics working within the fields of social theory, knowledge, and consumption.
Die Macht der Erkenntnis
John Maynard Keynes als »Retter des Kapitalismus« hat die westlichen Demokratien grundlegend verä... more John Maynard Keynes als »Retter des Kapitalismus« hat die westlichen Demokratien grundlegend verändert und die Grundlagen für eine neue und erneut aktuelle Wirtschaftspolitik geschaffen. Im Fall der »Rassenhygiene« haben Wissenschaftler als Vordenker der Vernichtung kulturelle und politische Ressourcen genutzt, um ihre Wissensansprüche durchzusetzen – mit fatalen Folgen. Der Klimawandel schließlich ist ein von Wissenschaftlern, Politikern und Experten intensiv diskutiertes Thema, gleichwohl haben die diesbezüglichen Erkenntnisse einen überraschend geringen Einfluß auf die praktische Politik. Anhand dieser drei Beispiele untersucht das Buch das prekäre Verhältnis von Wissen und politischer Macht.
Expertenwissen: Die Kultur und die Macht von Experten, Beratern und Ratgebern
Diese Monographie untersucht die theoretische und praktische Bedeutung von Experten, Beratern und... more Diese Monographie untersucht die theoretische und praktische Bedeutung von Experten, Beratern und Ratgebern in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft. Offensichtlich gibt es eine wachsende Schicht von wissensbasierten Berufen, die zur Pluralisierung von Expertise und zur Multiplikation von Experten geführt hat. Entscheidungsträger in Organisationen wie Privatbürger suchen vermehrt den Rat von Experten. Die beiden Autoren analysieren wichtige Aspekte von Expertentätigkeit und legen dar, dass die Rolle von Experten von anderen – wie Professionen, Wissenschaftlern oder Intellektuellen – unterschieden werden muss. Experten üben wissensbasierte Tätigkeiten aus, die zwischen dem Kontext der Wissensproduktion und der Wissensanwendung vermitteln.
Besprechung in der Sueddeuschen Zeitung v. 13.10.2010
http://www.buecher.de/shop/arbeit/expertenwissen/stehr-nico-grundmann-reiner/products_products/content/prod_id/28215627/
Besprechung auf socialnet v. 5.6.2011:
http://www.socialnet.de/rezensionen/10394.php
What is the nature of our current societies? Do we see a clash of civilizations, or the end of hi... more What is the nature of our current societies? Do we see a clash of civilizations, or the end of history? The advent of globalization, or the birth of the network society? Are we witnessing the emergence of a risk society, or the advent of the knowledge society? More fundamentally, is ‘society’ an ideological construct that should be abandoned?
This four-volume collection, a new title in the Routledge Critical Concepts in Sociology series, brings together both canonical and the best cutting-edge research to document the intellectual origins and development of what remains a key framework within which contemporary work in the social sciences in general, and sociology in particular, proceeds.
Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Society is an essential reference work, destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital research resource.
Knowledge: Critical Concepts (5 vols)
Knowledge is of crucial, and growing importance in social, political and economic relations in mo... more Knowledge is of crucial, and growing importance in social, political and economic relations in modern society. The range and variety of available knowledge dramatically enlarges the available options of social action.
This five volume collection brings together a broad array of contributions from a variety of disciplines. Featuring essays from philosophers who have investigated the foundations of knowledge, and addressing different forms of knowledge in society such as common sense and practical knowledge, this collection also discusses the role of knowledge in economic process and gives attention to the role of expert knowledge in political decision making.
Including a collection of articles from the sociology of knowledge and science, the set also provides a new introduction by the editors, making it a unique and invaluable research resource for both student and scholar.
Transnational Environmental Policy: Reconstructing Ozone
This work analyzes a surprising success story in the field of international environmental policy ... more This work analyzes a surprising success story in the field of international environmental policy making -- the threat to the ozone layer posed by industrial chemicals, and how it has been averted. The book also raises the more general question about problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries and the world society as a whole.
This case study investigates the regulations, which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US, and Germany. At the same time, it highlights problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries: is the international community in a position to tackle global environmental threats? Under which conditions is transnational governance without government possible?
Combining insights from political science and sociology, Reiner Grundmann develops a policy network approach which traces environmental advocacy in transnational settings. He analyses key scientific controversies based on insights in the sociology of science; and examines risk sociology, institutional analysis and cultural theory in order to understand the role of discourses, norms and ideas in decisions under uncertainty. Based on expert interviews, archival material, and mass media analysis, this book challenges commonly accepted accounts of the case which so far have been put forward. Finally, Reiner Grundmann suggests some lessons that can be learnt from the ozone layer scenario and applies them to the case of global climate change.
Werner Sombart: Economic Life in the Modern Age
Werner Sombart (1863-1941) may well have been the most famous and controversial social scientist ... more Werner Sombart (1863-1941) may well have been the most famous and controversial social scientist in Germany during the early twentieth century. Highly influential, his work and reputation have been indelibly tainted by his embrace of National Socialism in the last decade of his life. Although Sombart left an enormous opus spanning disciplinary boundaries, intellectual reaction to his work inside and outside of Germany is divided and ambivalent. Sombart consistently responded to the social and political developments that have shaped the twentieth century. Economic Life in the Modern Age provides a representative sampling of those portions of Sombart's work that have stood the test of time.
It has been agreed that Marxism has little to say about ecological problems, or that it actually ... more It has been agreed that Marxism has little to say about ecological problems, or that it actually legitimizes harm to the environment. In "Marxism and Ecology" Reiner Grundmann thoroughly reconsiders these assumptions. Avoiding simplistic solutions, he focuses on the type of environmental problems that can be analyzed by Marx's theory and asks which of his approaches are still convincing. He argues that Marx's theory of human nature and his evolutionary thinking are cogent tools for understanding basic traits of industrial countries and the ecological problems they produce. He challenges the widespread belief that the development of productive forces is by itself a threat to the environment, arguing that only specific technologies, not technology as such, lead to environmental degradation. He concludes that the pursuit of productivity need not therefore necessarily be in conflict with the development of a healthy environment and examines the extent to which it is possible to create technologies which will allow such development. Teachers and students of political theory, social science, and political philosophy, as well as environmentalists should find this book of interest.
Papers by Reiner Grundmann
Society: The Origins of Society
What is the nature of our current societies? Do we see a clash of civilizations, or the end of hi... more What is the nature of our current societies? Do we see a clash of civilizations, or the end of history? The advent of globalization, or the birth of the network society? Are we witnessing the emergence of a risk society, or the advent of the knowledge society? More fundamentally, ...
Fundamentalist Intolerance or Civil Disobedience?
Political Theory, Nov 1, 1991
Sollen und Sein klaffen bei uns weiter auseinander als bei anderen, weil eben das Sollen sehr hoc... more Sollen und Sein klaffen bei uns weiter auseinander als bei anderen, weil eben das Sollen sehr hoch gesetzt ist. Thomas Mann, Doctor Faustus
The Scientific Ethos: The Case of Climate Change
Pioneers in arts, humanities, science, engineering, practice, 2018
My interest in climate change dates back some 20 years when I was conducting a case study on the ... more My interest in climate change dates back some 20 years when I was conducting a case study on the protection of the ozone layer.
Making Sense of Expertise
Nature, climate change and the culture of social sciences
Epistemology & Philosophy of Science, 2020
Debates about the role of science in policy making have highlighted the uneasy relationship betwe... more Debates about the role of science in policy making have highlighted the uneasy relationship between knowledge and decision making. Recent high-profile examples include climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand there is an intertwinement between facts and values. On the other hand, there is a tension between the acknowledgement of scientific uncertainty and the justification of political action. This sometimes finds political solutions that are perceived as unsound and unsatisfactory. Some perceive the policies as too weak, some as too strong. Both appeal to fundamental values such as health, wealth, security, freedom, equality, or solidarity. In this article I will argue that we need a more open debate about these issues and a deeper understanding of what is at issue in science policy debates. I shall do so by referring to a Neurathian framework. Neurath’s legacy survives mainly in the history and philosophy of science but is largely forgotten in policy studies and s...
Debunking scpetical propaganda. Book review of: Oreskes and Conway, Merchants of Doubt
BioSocieties
Uploads
Books by Reiner Grundmann
Too often different meanings of experts and expertise are implied without making them explicit. Grundmann’s approach to expertise is based on a synthesis of approaches that exist in various fields of knowledge. The book aims at dispelling much of the confusion by offering a comprehensive and rigorous framework for the study of expertise. A series of in-depth case studies drawn from contemporary issues, including the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, provide the empirical basis of the author’s comprehensive approach.
This thought-provoking book will be of great interests to students, instructors and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities, social sciences, and science and technology studies.
As decision makers in organizations and private citizens, for various reasons, increasingly seek advice from experts, the authors examine the nature of expert activity, and suggest that the role of experts needs to be distinguised from other roles such as professionals, scientists, or intellectuals. Experts, they argue, perform knowledge based activities that mediate between the context of knowledge creation and application. Existing approaches tend to restrict the role of the expert to scientists, or to conflate the roles of professionals with experts. In avoiding such restrictions, this book sets out a framework to understanding the growing role of expertise in a better way.
Experts provides thought-provoking discussion that will be of interest to postgraduate students and academics working within the fields of social theory, knowledge, and consumption.
Besprechung in der Sueddeuschen Zeitung v. 13.10.2010
http://www.buecher.de/shop/arbeit/expertenwissen/stehr-nico-grundmann-reiner/products_products/content/prod_id/28215627/
Besprechung auf socialnet v. 5.6.2011:
http://www.socialnet.de/rezensionen/10394.php
This four-volume collection, a new title in the Routledge Critical Concepts in Sociology series, brings together both canonical and the best cutting-edge research to document the intellectual origins and development of what remains a key framework within which contemporary work in the social sciences in general, and sociology in particular, proceeds.
Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Society is an essential reference work, destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital research resource.
This five volume collection brings together a broad array of contributions from a variety of disciplines. Featuring essays from philosophers who have investigated the foundations of knowledge, and addressing different forms of knowledge in society such as common sense and practical knowledge, this collection also discusses the role of knowledge in economic process and gives attention to the role of expert knowledge in political decision making.
Including a collection of articles from the sociology of knowledge and science, the set also provides a new introduction by the editors, making it a unique and invaluable research resource for both student and scholar.
This case study investigates the regulations, which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US, and Germany. At the same time, it highlights problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries: is the international community in a position to tackle global environmental threats? Under which conditions is transnational governance without government possible?
Combining insights from political science and sociology, Reiner Grundmann develops a policy network approach which traces environmental advocacy in transnational settings. He analyses key scientific controversies based on insights in the sociology of science; and examines risk sociology, institutional analysis and cultural theory in order to understand the role of discourses, norms and ideas in decisions under uncertainty. Based on expert interviews, archival material, and mass media analysis, this book challenges commonly accepted accounts of the case which so far have been put forward. Finally, Reiner Grundmann suggests some lessons that can be learnt from the ozone layer scenario and applies them to the case of global climate change.
Papers by Reiner Grundmann
Too often different meanings of experts and expertise are implied without making them explicit. Grundmann’s approach to expertise is based on a synthesis of approaches that exist in various fields of knowledge. The book aims at dispelling much of the confusion by offering a comprehensive and rigorous framework for the study of expertise. A series of in-depth case studies drawn from contemporary issues, including the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, provide the empirical basis of the author’s comprehensive approach.
This thought-provoking book will be of great interests to students, instructors and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities, social sciences, and science and technology studies.
As decision makers in organizations and private citizens, for various reasons, increasingly seek advice from experts, the authors examine the nature of expert activity, and suggest that the role of experts needs to be distinguised from other roles such as professionals, scientists, or intellectuals. Experts, they argue, perform knowledge based activities that mediate between the context of knowledge creation and application. Existing approaches tend to restrict the role of the expert to scientists, or to conflate the roles of professionals with experts. In avoiding such restrictions, this book sets out a framework to understanding the growing role of expertise in a better way.
Experts provides thought-provoking discussion that will be of interest to postgraduate students and academics working within the fields of social theory, knowledge, and consumption.
Besprechung in der Sueddeuschen Zeitung v. 13.10.2010
http://www.buecher.de/shop/arbeit/expertenwissen/stehr-nico-grundmann-reiner/products_products/content/prod_id/28215627/
Besprechung auf socialnet v. 5.6.2011:
http://www.socialnet.de/rezensionen/10394.php
This four-volume collection, a new title in the Routledge Critical Concepts in Sociology series, brings together both canonical and the best cutting-edge research to document the intellectual origins and development of what remains a key framework within which contemporary work in the social sciences in general, and sociology in particular, proceeds.
Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Society is an essential reference work, destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital research resource.
This five volume collection brings together a broad array of contributions from a variety of disciplines. Featuring essays from philosophers who have investigated the foundations of knowledge, and addressing different forms of knowledge in society such as common sense and practical knowledge, this collection also discusses the role of knowledge in economic process and gives attention to the role of expert knowledge in political decision making.
Including a collection of articles from the sociology of knowledge and science, the set also provides a new introduction by the editors, making it a unique and invaluable research resource for both student and scholar.
This case study investigates the regulations, which have been put in place at an international level, and how the process evolved over twenty years in the US, and Germany. At the same time, it highlights problem-solving capacities of industrialised countries: is the international community in a position to tackle global environmental threats? Under which conditions is transnational governance without government possible?
Combining insights from political science and sociology, Reiner Grundmann develops a policy network approach which traces environmental advocacy in transnational settings. He analyses key scientific controversies based on insights in the sociology of science; and examines risk sociology, institutional analysis and cultural theory in order to understand the role of discourses, norms and ideas in decisions under uncertainty. Based on expert interviews, archival material, and mass media analysis, this book challenges commonly accepted accounts of the case which so far have been put forward. Finally, Reiner Grundmann suggests some lessons that can be learnt from the ozone layer scenario and applies them to the case of global climate change.