Post-truth and the power of affections: a rescue of Rachel Carson’s life and work for a knowledge about sciences

Abstract

After being defined as the word of the year in 2016 by the Oxford dictionary, the post-truth has aroused the attention of researchers interested in understanding the origin of this phenomenon and its political and social implications nowadays and in the future. In stating that the post-truth is “relative to, or denotes circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”, the Oxford dictionary opens a gap for us to seek to understand how the dichotomy “objective facts” versus “subjective or emotional aspects” may reflect the interests of the modernist contract of the sciences in the search for truth. For this, we turn to the historical case represented by the life and work of the American biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964) who, when publishing her book Silent Spring in 1962, was accused of being irrational, emotional and considered pseudoscientist. Based on this case and drawing parallels with the current discussion on the use of pesticides in Brazil, we seek to show how the mobilization of affections can be used to arouse public interest in a topic. Finally, we discuss how this mobilization of affections can contribute to a science teaching committed to perceiving the scientific practice also permeated by aspects of subjectivity intrinsic to human beings.