Private/Public Values Project
Do you ever experience tension between your personal values and what is expected of you as a public figure? The private/public values project explores how individuals navigate this tension, and whether and how public institutions can be transformed to allow for a more open discussion about the moral direction they are taking.
The Private/Public Values project will interview people working in science and policy, two spheres prized for their neutrality, to explore how they navigate the tension between personal and public values. It will subsequently host two separate events, one for scientists, and one for policymakers, in which we draw on findings to critically reflect on whether and how our institutions can be transformed to allow for a more open discussion about the moral direction they are taking.
Do you ever experience tension between your personal values and what is expected of you as a public figure?
Publications
The notion that we can and must create a space free of subjective bias has been foundational to European science and politics for at least four hundred years. This ideal is underscored by a myth that religion and ideology lead to violence, and an accompanying conviction that it is possible and necessary to leave these at the door in the name of an impartial way of thinking and behaving. But in truth, we know that this idea of impartiality has always been more of an aspiration than a lived reality. Our scientific and political practices are guided by deep assumptions about what is real and unreal, possible and impossible, desirable and undesirable. Then question then, is how do individuals operating in these hyper-impartial spaces navigate the tension between their personal values and those that dominate public discussion.
About Timothy Stacey
Tim is a researcher and lecturer at the Urban Futures Studio. As well as undertaking research into the repertoires found in various settings, he collaborates with policymakers, designers, and activists to develop new repertoires that advance social, economic, and ecological justice. For more formal reflections, see Tim’s peer-reviewed research: www.uu.nl/staff/TJStacey/Publications.
Climate Confessions
Read Climate Confessions, a blog series in which Timothy Stacey reveals the “religious repertoires” associated with sustainability in various sectors. From the myths of great floods that dominate in Dutch politics to the rituals of reconnecting with other humans and the other-than-human found among activists, each month, Tim invites you into the repertoires (myths, rituals, magic) that lurk beneath the surface, shaping sustainability in an otherwise secular world.