Project name: Understanding Scientific Disagreement and its Impact on Society 

Project acronym: SMD

Principal Investigator: Prof.ssa Silvia De Toffoli - https://www.iusspavia.it/it/rubrica/silvia-de-toffoli 

CUP: I53D23006880001

Description: Disagreement among experts is a widespread phenomenon in scientific and intellectual practice, yet its epistemological characteristics remain poorly understood. This project investigates the nature of disagreement in two distinct domains: mathematics, commonly regarded as immune to disagreement, and contexts characterized by uncertainty, such as the assessment of natural and anthropogenic risks. We show that even in mathematics there are meaningful forms of disagreement, and we propose a taxonomy of them, while in uncertain contexts we analyze how different sources—aleatory and epistemic uncertainties—generate divergences among experts. The project also addresses the problem of communicating scientific disagreement to the public, arguing that a more accurate understanding of the constructive role of disagreement can help counter phenomena such as scientific denialism and post-truth. The overall aim is to clarify how disagreement operates within science and how it influences society as a whole.

Funding Institution: MUR - Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca

Project starting date: 30/11/2023

Project end date: 28/02/2026