Science as a Political Battlefield: How Cultural Values Shape People's Attitudes to Science

This chapter will examine the role of science and factual knowledge in public policymaking in the digital era. The chapter will address why certain scientific issues trigger political controversy and cultural polarization and what psychological mechanisms fuel political tribalism, ideological group thinking, and the rejection of facts and science in collective political decision-making. Furthermore, the digital revolution and its capability of fueling disinformation and false narratives will also be analyzed. According to the main argument, the rejection of science on particular issues is not due to public ignorance, the lack of education, or scientific illiteracy. The emergence of “post-truth politics” and the erosion of science in collective decision-making is largely caused by rising political partisanship, cultural group thinking, motivated reasoning, and identity-protective cognition.