Science, health, and human rights

ABSTRACT

A solid knowledge base is one of the necessary conditions to assure health as a human right. The contemporary source of such knowledge are the sciences at large, which however presents a problem, since the scientific enterprise can – and has been – a source of human rights violations as well. The field of social studies of science (STS) takes an iconoclast approach to the science, providing much needed criticism of its claims of authority. Recently, however, when attacks from multiple sources attempt to undermine perfectly reasonable scientific developments, the STS approach may not provide the adequate tools to deal with such challenge, especially with regard to health issues. This essay explores, with examples, ways in which the critical stance of STS may be compatible with a defense of proper scientific knowledge – in fact, helping to define what that actually means – without falling in the trap of scientism.

KEYWORDS:

• Science and technology studies
• human rights
• science denialism
• disinformation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This essay is based on research funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) and Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ).