Bases de saber: arqueologia da informação sobre transgênicos

Abstract

For the decision-making on issues with a high degree of complexity, it is not enough to consider only the scientific aspects. Some matters have such overlap with legal, political and economic aspects that to isolate them, only in their scientific aspects, will make the understanding of these issues too fragmented. As research problem, we ask how Information Science can contribute to the understanding of complex, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary subjects, which involve science, politics, economy and legislation. The hegemony of scientific knowledge as the stablisher of the truth, and the provider of parameters for understanding reality is insufficient, although it still represents in contemporary society abroad field of justifications to establish social actions and policies. As an example, we took as fact the discussions around the theme "Genetically Modified Organisms - GMOs", since we realized that just to gather information taken from scientific research on what they are, their benefits and risks, is not enough. It is necessary to create a repository of information which we call knowledge basis, that may contribute to the understanding of the building process of the existing discourse on the subject. This designation is based on the concept presented by Michel Foucault, on whom we rely as methodological support to establish, through archaeological studies of discourse, the archaeology of information. Our main objective was to understand the possibilities of building knowledge bases by using archaeological analysis of information, in order to assist managers in decision making. The design of the research was based on documents freely available on the Internet in the domain of the State, represented by the speeches of senators; Scientific Community, through Embrapa and representation of Civil Society, with the analysis of the final document from the seminar Threat of GMOs -- Proposals from Civil Society. For the analysis of discourse we established frames according to the scientific, regulatory, economic and political approaches. Finally we realized that science alone can not explain the complex reality in which the GMOs take part and that the construction of knowledge bases about them, which include scientific, economic, political and legal knowledge can contribute to the understanding of this fact and provide subsidies for decision.