IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/wirecc/v8y2017i3ne452.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the rhetoric of climate science debates

Author

Listed:
  • Lynda Walsh

Abstract

Scientists and policymakers alike frequently call for the elimination of rhetoric from discussions of climate science. These calls betray some fundamental misunderstandings about the 2500‐year‐old art of rhetoric. Once these are dispelled, it becomes apparent that what we need for effective climate‐science debate is not less rhetoric but more: that is, more sensitivity to the political frame within which every debate takes place and how that frame shapes deliberation; more awareness of the unstated values and assumptions supporting statements made on all sides; more ways to link climate to stakeholders’ daily lives, values, and decisions. This article briefly introduces readers to the history and theory of rhetoric for two purposes: (1) explaining the various and sometimes contradictory ways in which this ancient discipline shapes the communication of climate science and (2) providing readers with a few simple but powerful tools for coping with climate debates. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e452. doi: 10.1002/wcc.452 This article is categorized under: Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Knowledge and Practice

Suggested Citation

  • Lynda Walsh, 2017. "Understanding the rhetoric of climate science debates," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(3), May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:8:y:2017:i:3:n:e452
    DOI: 10.1002/wcc.452
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.452
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/wcc.452?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nina Wormbs & Maria Wolrath Söderberg, 2021. "Knowledge, Fear, and Conscience: Reasons to Stop Flying Because of Climate Change," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(2), pages 314-324.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:8:y:2017:i:3:n:e452. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1757-7799 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.