In his article, ‘Social constructionism and climate science denial’, Hansson claims to present empirical evidence that the cultural theory developed by Dame Mary Douglas, Aaron Wildavsky and ourselves (among others) leads to (climate) science denial. In this reply, we show that there is no validity to these claims. First, we show that Hansson’s empirical evidence that cultural theory has led to climate science denial falls apart under closer inspection. Contrary to Hansson’s claims, cultural theory has made significant contributions to understanding and addressing climate change. Second, we discuss various features of Douglas’ cultural theory that differentiate it from other constructivist approaches and make it compatible with the scientific method. Thus, we also demonstrate that cultural theory cannot be accused of epistemic relativism.

在他的文章“社会建构主义和气候科学否认”中，汉森声称提供了经验证据，证明玛丽·道格拉斯夫人、亚伦·维尔达夫斯基和我们自己（以及其他人）发展的文化理论导致（气候）科学否认。在本答复中，我们表明这些主张无效。首先，我们表明，汉森关于文化理论导致气候科学否认的经验证据在仔细检查下会崩溃。与汉森的主张相反，文化理论对理解和应对气候变化做出了重大贡献。其次，我们讨论了道格拉斯文化理论区别于其他建构主义方法并使其与科学方法兼容的各种特征。因此，我们也证明了文化理论不能被指责为认知相对主义。