Vetenskap och Folkbildning (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: literal translation "Science and Popular Enlightenment", English: The Swedish Skeptics' Association), abbreviated as VoF, is a Swedish skeptics' association. It was founded in 1982 to raise the general public's awareness of scientific methods and results. The association publishes the quarterly journal '' Folkvett'' and organises lectures on themes related to science and pseudoscience. Since 1987 the association has annually awarded prizes for " Enlightener of the Year" and " Misleader of the Year".

Activities

In 2010 the association had over 2600 members. The current chairman is Pontus Böckman (who is also a co-host of The European Skeptics Podcast and a board member of the

European Council of Skeptical Organisations The European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) is an Umbrella organization, umbrella of organisations defending scientific skepticism in Europe. Goals Founded on 25 September 1994, the ECSO aims to co-ordinate activities of European org ...

), while Lina Hedman acts as vice-president. Other prominent members are professor of philosophy

Sven Ove Hansson Sven Ove Hansson (born 1951) is a Swedish philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and History of Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. He is an author and scienti ...

(chairman 1982–1988), professor of

molecular cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

Dan Larhammar (chairman 1998–2004) and

ESA The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Christer Fuglesang Arne Christer Fuglesang (born 18 March 1957) is a Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut. He was first launched aboard the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006, making him the first Swedish citizen in space. Married with three child ...

. VoF is part of an international network of skeptics' associations, the largest of which is the American

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to " ...

(CSI). Founded six years prior to VoF, CSI served as a model for the Swedish organisation.

Criticism

People whose activities has been labeled "pseudoscience" and "deceptions" by VoF, and by skeptics in general, have been critical of the organisation. In academia the association enjoys quite high esteem. Several Swedish universities offer courses utilising publications by its members. Many members are scientists and teachers. Some criticism has however also been voiced by academics. Philosopher Martin Gustafsson at the

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

argues that VoF exaggerates the threats against rationality and science, and that its representatives erroneously depict themselves as underdogs in a war on widespread superstition. He has also maintained that the Enlightenment's ideal of free thought clashes with the respect for scientific authority that VoF espouses. Per-Anders Forstorp at the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, suggests that VoF represents

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

and institutionalised intolerance. Sven Ove Hansson has commented on this kind of criticism:

The way I see it, VoF and the general skeptical movement is not characterised by any particular view of science. ... Just like members of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
can have different ideas about the limits of free speech, there is room in VoF for divergent opinions in questions about science and the philosophy of science. (Critics have sometimes claimed that the organisation is full of positivists. I have never come across one of those, but VoF does have supporters and opponents of Karl Popper's falsificationist theory of science among its members.)Sven Ove Hansson, "En rörelse av skeptiker?", i J. Jerkert och S. O. Hansson (red.), ''Fakta eller fantasier'', Stockholm: Leopard, 2007, s. 186.

References

External links

*
web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreningen Vetenskap Och Folkbildning Skeptic organizations in Sweden Science and technology in Sweden Scientific skepticism organizations 1982 establishments in Sweden Organizations based in Stockholm

Activities

Criticism

References

Further reading

External links