Cover not available
Part of
Science and Democracy: Controversies and conflicts
Edited by Pierluigi Barrotta and Giovanni Scarafile
[Controversies 13] 2018
► pp. 17–34

Chapter 1
The dam project: Who are the experts?

A philosophical lesson from the Vajont disaster

In 1963 a huge landslide covered the Vajont valley (north-east of Italy), where one of the tallest arch dams in the world had been put in place (completed in 1959). More than 2000 people died. The locals had repeatedly warned the scientists that the sides of the valley were too fragile to hold significant impact, and publicly raised concern. The ensuing media debate surrounding issues of safety in the valley soon became manipulated for political purposes, and the important message got wasted.
With the help of this case study we analyse how two types of knowledge (official science and local experience) may confront each other and why they fail to interact. We then draw some lessons concerning how the use of expert knowledge becomes effective and valuable in the context of non-expert knowledge.
Keywords: experts, local knowledge, public opinion, inductive risk, fact/value dichotomy
Article outline
  • 1.Preliminaries
  • 2.The case study: Historical background
  • 3.Two areas of neglect in expert judgement
  • 4.By way of conclusion: A community of inquirers
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
References (22)
References
Barrotta, P. (2016). Scienza e democrazia. Roma: Carocci. Eng. Trans. Scientists, Democracy, and Society: A Community of Inquirers. Berlin and New York: Springer, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Betz, G. (2013). In Defence of the Value Free Ideal. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 3, 207–220. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Caloi, P. (1966). L’evento del Vajont nei suoi aspetti geodinamici. Annali di Geofisica. vol. 19, no. 1.Google Scholar
Carloni, G. C. (1995). Il Vaiont trent’anni dopo. Esperienza di un geologo. Bologna: Clueb.Google Scholar
Cartwright, N. (1999). The Dappled World. A Study of the Boundaries of Science. , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Collins, H. & Evans, R. (2007). Rethinking Expertise. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Galison, P. (1997). Image and Logic. A Material Culture of Microphysics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Gervasoni, A. (1969). Il Vajont e le responsabilità dei manager. Milano: Bramante editrice.Google Scholar
Jeffrey, R. (1956). Valuation and Acceptance of Scientific Hypotheses. Philosophy of Science, 22, 197–217.Google Scholar
Merlin, T.. (1959). La SADE spadroneggia, L’Unità, May 5, also in [URL]
(2001). Sulla pelle viva. Come si costruisce una catastrofe. Il caso del Vajont, 4th ed., Verona: Cierre edizioni.Google Scholar
Montuschi, E.. (2011). Oggettività ed evidenza scientifica. Ricerca empirica, politiche sociali, scienza responsabile. Roma: Carocci.Google Scholar
Müller, L. (1961). Rapporto geologico per conto della SADE, Documenti utilizzati dal 1° gruppo di lavoro della Commissione. Senato Italiano (2003).Google Scholar
Paolini, M. & Vacis, G. (2013). Il racconto del Vajont. Nuova edizione con due saggi inediti. Milano: Garzanti.Google Scholar
Rudner, R. (1953). The Scientist qua Scientist Makes Value Judgments. Philosophy of Science, 20, 1–6. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Semenza, C. (1961). Lettera a Vincenzo Ferniani. Documentazione Tecnica, Senato Italiano (2003).Google Scholar
Semenza, E. & Giudici, F. (1960). Studio geologico sul serbatoio del Vajont, Documentazione tecnica, Senato Italiano (2003).Google Scholar
Semenza, E. (2001). La storia del Vajont, raccontata dal geologo che ha scoperto la frana. Ferrara: K-flash.Google Scholar
Senato Italiano (2003). Commissione parlamentare d’inchiesta sul Vajont. Archivio storico, Soveria Mannelli: Rubettino.Google Scholar
Vecellio, P. (1965). Relazione su studi apparsi in pubblicazioni straniere dopo la sciagura del Vajont. Documenti redatti dal 1° Gruppo di lavoro della Commissione, Senato Italiano (2003).Google Scholar
Wynne, B. (1996). May the Sheep Safely Graze? A Reflexive View of the Expert-Lay Knowledge Divide. In S. Lash, B. Szerszynski, B. Wynne (Eds.), Risk, Environment & Modernity (44–83). London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Zanolli, R. (2013). Vajont. Cronaca di una tragedia annunciata, Vittorio Veneto: Dario De Bastiani Editore.Google Scholar