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From climate skeptic to climate cynic

Skoglund, Annika and Stripple, Johannes LU (2019) In Critical Policy Studies 13(3). p.345-365
Abstract

Whilst we know quite a bit about organized forms of climate skepticism, very few studies focus on how disorganized climate skeptics seek an underdog position to speak truth to power. Hence, we investigate frank speech as updated ancient forms of truth-telling ‘parrhesia’, in two Swedish empirical sources that strongly question the climate change consensus. The first is a digital space for free speech, and the second a focus group of climate skeptics. Tracing ‘epistemic skepticism’ and ‘response skepticism’, we inquire into the attempts to counter scientific expertise and the different ways to refuse to act in accordance with officially sanctioned advice. We analyze the details of climate cynic truth-telling in relation to truth-telling... (More)

Whilst we know quite a bit about organized forms of climate skepticism, very few studies focus on how disorganized climate skeptics seek an underdog position to speak truth to power. Hence, we investigate frank speech as updated ancient forms of truth-telling ‘parrhesia’, in two Swedish empirical sources that strongly question the climate change consensus. The first is a digital space for free speech, and the second a focus group of climate skeptics. Tracing ‘epistemic skepticism’ and ‘response skepticism’, we inquire into the attempts to counter scientific expertise and the different ways to refuse to act in accordance with officially sanctioned advice. We analyze the details of climate cynic truth-telling in relation to truth-telling as provocation, as ethical practice and as exhibition of a specific aim. We explore how the climate skeptic turns into a climate cynic, and discuss how alternative truth construction forms an anti-climate ethical selfhood. We end by problematizing how parrhesia is linked to ethical relativism, and argue that the recognition of climate cynicism facilitates our understanding of how conflicting political realities about climate change are produced.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Climate change, climate skepticism, ethics, subjectivity, the cynics, truth-telling
in
Critical Policy Studies
volume
13
issue
3
pages
21 pages
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85041209783
ISSN
1946-0171
DOI
10.1080/19460171.2018.1429938
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
021ea88d-9db3-48ad-a379-6c3366343e13
date added to LUP
2018-02-12 08:19:56
date last changed
2022-04-17 18:41:33
@article{021ea88d-9db3-48ad-a379-6c3366343e13,
  abstract     = {{<p>Whilst we know quite a bit about organized forms of climate skepticism, very few studies focus on how disorganized climate skeptics seek an underdog position to speak truth to power. Hence, we investigate frank speech as updated ancient forms of truth-telling ‘parrhesia’, in two Swedish empirical sources that strongly question the climate change consensus. The first is a digital space for free speech, and the second a focus group of climate skeptics. Tracing ‘epistemic skepticism’ and ‘response skepticism’, we inquire into the attempts to counter scientific expertise and the different ways to refuse to act in accordance with officially sanctioned advice. We analyze the details of climate cynic truth-telling in relation to truth-telling as provocation, as ethical practice and as exhibition of a specific aim. We explore how the climate skeptic turns into a climate cynic, and discuss how alternative truth construction forms an anti-climate ethical selfhood. We end by problematizing how parrhesia is linked to ethical relativism, and argue that the recognition of climate cynicism facilitates our understanding of how conflicting political realities about climate change are produced.</p>}},
  author       = {{Skoglund, Annika and Stripple, Johannes}},
  issn         = {{1946-0171}},
  keywords     = {{Climate change; climate skepticism; ethics; subjectivity; the cynics; truth-telling}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{345--365}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Critical Policy Studies}},
  title        = {{From climate skeptic to climate cynic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2018.1429938}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/19460171.2018.1429938}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}