The Science of Repair: How People Who Believe in Facts Can Build a Better Future

A transformative account of the role science can play in combatting injustice--by deepening our moral commitments to each other through collaborative investigation.

For many people, science and social justice seem to be natural allies-the slogan ＂science is real＂ often accompanies affirmations of diversity and reproductive rights. In practice, too, doing science is an increasingly prevalent strategy of social and environmental justice movements. But while it seems apparent that science can aid in the pursuit of justice, it can be hard to explain how it does so-and thus hard to know how to deploy science most strategically.

In The Science of Repair, Gwen Ottinger draws on years of on-the-ground research to offer a much-needed explanation of how science works to combat injustice. Telling the stories of ordinary people who’ve turned to science in the hopes of reducing toxic pollution in their communities, the scientists and innovators who’ve developed methods to enable communities to better represent their experiences, and the charismatic technologies that they’ve deployed, Ottinger presents a surprising conclusion: proving that people have been harmed, in itself, rarely advances justice. The process of investigating injustice, on the other hand, can strengthen shared standards for right and wrong, increase ordinary people’s ability to hold powerful actors accountable, and bolster hope that wrongs will be redressed-all essential elements of a just society.

For those who believe that science should matter to public discourse and decision-making, Gwen Ottinger’s engaging new work offers clear steps to help ensure that scientific investigations further justice. It brings much needed nuance to our thinking about how science can do good in the world and why we should defend it.

Gwen Ottinger is a Professor at Drexel University whose research integrates empirical social science and normative political theory to understand the role of science and technology in creating a just world. Ottinger received the 2015 Rachel Carson Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science for their first book, Refining Expertise: How Responsible Engineers Subvert Environmental Justice Challenges. Their research grants and fellowships include an NSF CAREER award, an ACLS-Burkhardt Fellowship, and a Fulbright Research Chair at the University of Ottawa.