Popularization and Consilience

Abstract

Social science makes its way into public debate, raising concerns about publicity-seeking scholarship but also opening up potential benefits for engagement across disciplines and society. Social science debates are no longer, if they ever were, confined to universities and obscure journals; they are now central parts of popular media and political debate. Associated scholarly motivations for public influence drive research, then popular discussion of research findings feeds back into scholarship. The increasing role of media attention, popular nonfiction, and think tanks changes the incentives and the practices of social scientists. Popularized scholarship not only (mis)informs the public and policymakers, but also shapes interdisciplinary debates. This enables integration by concentrating diverse minds on public concerns. Sociobiology shows that scholars with very different views of human nature have put forward popular accounts, responded to one another, and created an ongoing space for advancing knowledge.