Agnotology

The term was coined in 1992 by linguist and social historian Iain Boal, at the request of Stanford University professor Robert N. Proctor. The word is based on the Neoclassical Greek word agnōsis (, 'not knowing'; cf. Attic Greek , 'unknown' and -logia (). He was later quoted as calling it "agnotology, the study of ignorance," in a 2003 The New York Times story on medical historians who testify as expert witnesses. In 2004, Londa Schiebinger, an historian and the then new director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG), argued that agnotology questions why humans do not know important information and that it could be an "outcome of cultural and political struggle". In 2004, Schiebinger offered a more precise definition in a paper on 18th-century voyages of scientific discovery and gender relations, In 2008, they published an anthology entitled Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance which "provides a new theoretical perspective to broaden traditional questions about 'how we know' to ask: Why don't we know what we don't know?" They locate agnotology within the field of epistemology. == Examples ==

Proctor offers some examples where agnotology may explain instances of unnatural ignorance. These include the lack of Nakba education in the United States and the obscurity of Penn State's official ties to the United States Marine Corps. Oil companies paid teams of scientists to downplay its effects. Michael Betancourt used agnotology in a critical assessment of political economy in a 2010 article and book. His analysis focused on the housing bubble as well as the 1980 to 2008 period. Betancourt argued that this political economy should be termed "agnotologic capitalism", claiming that the systematic production and maintenance of ignorance enabled a "bubble economy" that allowed the economy to function. In his view, the role of affective labor is to create/maintain agnotologic views that enable the maintenance of the capitalist status quo. This is done by proffering counters to every fact, creating contention and confusion that is difficult to resolve. This confusion reduces dissent by deenergizing its motivating alienation and thus its potential to address weaknesses that may trigger collapse. == Related concepts ==

Agnoiology From the same Greek roots, agnoiology refers either to "the science or study of ignorance, which determines its quality and conditions" or "the doctrine concerning those things of which we are necessarily ignorant," describing a branch of philosophy studied by James Frederick Ferrier in the 19th century. Ainigmology Anthropologist Glenn Stone points out that some examples of agnotology (such as work promoting tobacco use) do not actually create a lack of knowledge so much as they create confusion. As a more accurate term Stone suggested "ainigmology", from the Greek root ainigma (as in 'enigma'), referring to riddles or to language that obscures the true meaning of a story. Cognitronics An emerging scientific discipline that connects to agnotology is cognitronics, which aims to explain distortions in perception caused by the information society and globalization and cope with these distortions. == See also ==