Abstract
AbstractThis chapter turns to the difficult question of who should have the authority and legitimacy to speak about the technical dimensions of policy issues. Toward this end, the analysis engages the seminal effort of Harry Collins and Robert Evans to develop a contributory theory of technical expertise. Developing their theory to assist public policy deliberation in matters related to science and technology, they fail to understand a crucial dimension of their project — namely, that there is no direct bridge from the technical sphere to the public realm across which such knowledge can travel. While technical knowledge is important for deliberation in the public decision-making, it is not processed in the public realm by the same epistemological rules employed in the techno-scientific realm. The discussion thus examines the way in which both the development of technical knowledge and its application is situated in particular social contexts governed by the logic of practical reason. The chapter concludes with a call for the study of the epistemics of public deliberation and policy decision-making.
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