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Cold Science Meets Hot Weather: Environmental Threats, Emotional Messages and Scientific Storytelling
[journal article]
Abstract Science is frequently called upon to provide guidance in the work towards sustainable development. However, for science to promote action, it is not sufficient that scientific advice is seen as competent and trustworthy. Such advice must also be perceived as meaningful and important, showing the nee... view more
Science is frequently called upon to provide guidance in the work towards sustainable development. However, for science to promote action, it is not sufficient that scientific advice is seen as competent and trustworthy. Such advice must also be perceived as meaningful and important, showing the need and urgency of taking action. This article discusses how science tries to facilitate action. It claims that the use of scientific storytelling - coherent stories told by scientists about environmental trajectories - are central in this; these stories provide meaning and motivate and guide action. To do this, the storylines need to include both a normative orientation and emotional appeals. Two different cases of scientific storytelling are analyzed: one is a dystopic story about a world rushing towards ecological catastrophe, and the other is an optimistic story about a world making dramatic progress. These macrosocial stories offer science-based ways to see the world and aim to foster and guide action. The article concludes by stating that using storylines in scientific storytelling can elicit fear, inspire hope, and guide action. The storylines connect cold and distant scientific findings to passionate imperatives about the need for social transformation. However, this attachment to emotions and values needs to be done reflexively, not only in order to create engagement with an issue but also to counteract a post-truth society where passionate imperatives go against scientific knowledge.... view less
Classification
Impact Research, Recipient Research
Free Keywords
Anthropocene; Factfulness; The Great Acceleration; emotions; narratives; science communication; scientific storytelling
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 118-128
Journal
Media and Communication, 8 (2020) 1
Issue topic
Emotions and Emotional Appeals in Science Communication
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed