Why science deserves scepticism and the role of science communication
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Martin Hartmann | University of Lucerne
The coronavirus crisis, if not before, has changed the relationship between science and the public. Suddenly, scientific certainties that previously enjoyed some certainty were called into question. The shock caused by this partial loss of credibility in science runs deep and is still being processed. On the one hand, ‘science marches’ aim to regain lost trust and fight back against the alleged destruction of truth. On the other hand, some voices argue that science should indeed be viewed with greater scepticism and warn against an ‘epistocracy’ – that is, the political domination of scientific expertise. How can these contradictory positions be reconciled? Is there such a thing as good and bad scepticism towards science? And what does this conflict mean for science communication?
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Martin Hartmann
Professor Martin Hartmann was appointed to the Chair of Practical Philosophy by the University of Lucerne in February 2011.
Professor Hartmann studied philosophy, comparative literature und sociology at the University of Constance, the London School of Economics and the Freie Universität in Berlin. He received his PhD with a thesis entitled "Kreativität der Gewohnheit. Grundzüge einer pragmatistischen Demokratietheorie (The Creativity of Habit: Principles of a Pragmatist Theory of Democracy)" at the Goethe University Frankfurt in 2001 where he also qualified in 2009 as a professor (Habilitation) with a thesis entitled "Die Praxis des Vertrauens (The Practice of Trust)".
While a scientific assistant and lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Goethe-University Professor Martin Hartmann was also a research associate at the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt (Institut für Sozialforschung). He was a visiting fellow at the University of Chicago and the "Maison des Sciences de l’Homme" in Paris and an associate professor at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, the Technische Universität Darmstadt and the Goethe University Frankfurt. For the academic year 2018–2019 he was member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
He is Scientific Director of the Executive MAS "Philosophy + Management" at the University of Lucerne.
From February 2020 to January 2024, he held the position as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Martin Hartmann has been President of the University of Lucerne since August 2024.
