Science in Society

Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr, the authors of this anthology, reflect on the popular and scientific perception and construction of the phenomenon of climate, climate change, climate policy and the impact of climate on society. In the early 1990s, the authors encountered notable resistance to the idea of climate change, especially as they wrote about the urgent need for societal adaptation. Something is wrong with our planet, and it is obvious that this has to do with human conduct. Many, if not the majority, of countermeasures to climate impacts require the innovative capacity of science and technology. However, the translation of scientific knowledge into society is not an automatic or autonomous force. Moving science into society is subject to economic, political, and cultural constraints - a central issue of the book.
Nico Stehr is a sociologist specializing in the theory of modern society and the sociology of knowledge; Hans von Storch is a mathematician and is also a physical climate scientist. Since the authors "inhabit" rather different scientific cultures, their collaboration is genuinely exemplary of transdisciplinary work. The book documents the interdisciplinary path and the wide range of themes that has occupied Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch during more than three decades of joint research and writing, which continues to benefit current research and reflection on the interrelation between nature, democracy, society, governance, and climate.