Interview: 'Democracy of science' needed[fr][de] 

"We need to create a democracy of science," said Michel Serres, a philosopher and member of the French Academy, in an interview with EurActiv on the societal impact and challenges linked to the acceptance of scientific advances and the adoption of new technologies in the 21st century.

"It is necessary to answer people's concerns - to answer them and not to explain! For two millenia, the scientific field has concentrated on offering science without listening to people's demands. The 'just shut up and we'll explain it to you' attitude needs to change: we need to be more responsive than explanatory," said Serres.

To increase societal knowledge of the role of science and eventually bridge the gap between science and society, Serres proposed starting with a survey to identify the issues people wish to know more about, as well as the subjects of specific concern to them. "A large proportion of people say they are worried about scientific advances, but let's ask them about what in particular! [...] It is not worth explaining to them what a supernova is if they are worried about genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)," he said. 

Furthermore, Serres encouraged scientists and researchers to listen to people more. For example, doctors should interact more with their patients and not only rely on what they have learned in the faculty. "Politicians should listen to the people more as well [...] but it is not necessary to create new tools as we already have blogs. We need to profit from the new technologies - it is not worth paying for expensive meetings in Brussels. We need to create a democracy of science. That's the main message," Serres said. 

The French philosopher also thinks that there is not really such a clear-cut relationship between 'science and society'. For him, the relationship is rather a "multiple one" as several actors are involved, namely politicians, but also lawyers and the media. 

"Currently, the media believes itself to be the vox populi, deciding on what to report about and thus being able to decide to skip science broadcasts to ensure higher audiences," said Serres, adding that science does not have a say in today's big media targeted for large audiences. 

To read the full interview (in French only), please click here.