Expertise, “Scientification,” and the Authority of Science

Abstract

Sociologists and social thinkers have long been concerned with the problem of the role of knowledge in society. In the 1940s and 1950s the sociology of science concerned itself with the related problem of the authority of science and with conflicts between science and democracy. In a world of complexities understood only by experts, the conflict between expert knowledge and democracy is especially relevant today, as shown by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The issues of expert failure and disinformation, the role of the digital community, and the communication of science to the public are now important social problems.