Moralizations in Science Communication

Climate justice, freedom energy, or Frankenfood – moral judgments are omnipresent in debates about socio-scientific issues. Our research project is called "Moralisierungen in der Wissenschaftskommunikation" (Moralizations in Science Communication), short MoWiKo. We study the types and effects of moralizations as well as how ethical aspects can be communicated appropriately. 

It is the natural sciences that usually analyze the underlying factors of certain societal problems such as climate change or new pathogens. They also develop ways to address these issues, such as new energy technologies or vaccinations. However, these findings often raise ethical questions that cannot be answered solely based on scientific statements. These include questions about the prioritization of goals, handling risks, or cost-benefit calculations. 

Ideally, answers to such questions arise in societal negotiation processes where all parties are capable of discourse and willing to make evidence-based compromises. In reality, however, such discussions at the interface of science and society are often not very oriented towards negotiation and finding a compromise.  

We assume that one reason for this is the way moral aspects of socio-scientific issues are introduced into public discourse. In this project, we investigate Moralizations in Science Communication as an interdisciplinary team from philosophy, communication science, and linguistics. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.