As a matter of fact....

“But this meant accepting much too uncritically what matters of fact were . . . Reality is not defined by matters of fact. Matters of fact are not all that is given in experience. Matters of fact are only very partial and, I would argue, very polemical, very political renderings of matters of concern and only a subset of what could also be called states of affairs.” (231)

After reading Latour this semester, I wasn’t his biggest fanboy. However, after reading this essay I lightened up on the guy and appreciated what he was saying and trying to illuminate in the selections from Pandoras Hope. This being my first CSCL class, much of the semester I was thinking exactly what this essay addresses, “What’s real if nothing is actually real?” Granted that statement has many holes in it, but you get what I am saying.

Having a scientific mind and desire to discover and know things, the idea that science could be unraveled through intense critique worried me. The way Latour describes facts as critical and political entities with aspects of them misconstrued or misrepresented rung very true to me, especially in the debate regarding GMOs. The science behind GMOs (much like the science behind global warming or any controversy for that matter) is molded to best support the interest of the financer. Latour says we are accepting facts without truly thinking about them and analyzing them. I couldn’t agree more with this statement. Opinions are often formulated without education or rational thought. The mob mentality (of both the educated and uneducated) is a prevalent force. Finding facts that blurs what the realities of GMOs are detracts from the actuality of GMOs. Science becomes skeptic with many different issues because science can be used to dissuade people from acceptance, but also use their empirical power to promote approval. As Latour said, facts are commonly used to take away from reality, but what happens when we add reality to facts? This is the question we must answer.

Acceptances of fact, whether they support or refute your position, without careful assessment can, and will, lead society down a dangerous path. Blind belief causes controversy because each side of the argument has “facts” backing up their position. Like Latour says, facts are not the only thing that factors into an experience, or a thing. The evidence supporting the basis that reality is made up of more than facts is that we are debating on whether there is actually a reality. If reality were purely factual, there would be no question as to what reality encompassed. However, realizing that whatever reality you choose to believe is made up of a multitude of interacting and compounding parts, of which formulation and acceptance of facts is just a small part, will allow identification of what Latour calls matters of concern.