Event Title

Leading with ethics, aiming for policy: New opportunities for philosophy of science

Presenter Information

Nancy Tuana, Penn State University

Start Date

28-6-2010 1:30 PM

End Date

28-6-2010 2:30 PM

Description

This is the Rotman Institute Keynote Address.

In this presentation I will argue that philosophers of science are missing important opportunities to contribute to essential dialogues and make a positive impact on our various communities. From our own institutions to national and international policy, the insights of philosophy of science can make important contributions to many important and essential realms, from pedagogy to international policy.

I focus on two case studies—research ethics training for scientists and climate change science and policy—and illustrate on the one hand, the value of enlarging the scope of our work and developing a more robust appreciation of the usefulness of the methods of philosophy of science for contributing to answers to important questions such as these and, on the other hand, how working in these areas would not only expand the scope but positively enrich the methods and practices of philosophers of science.

While these topics, and the typical approach to training scientists the proper “procedures,” are certainly important, this vision of research ethics is far too limited a venue to convey an appreciation of the full extent of the ethical dimensions of scientific research.

As I develop the first case study, I argue for the adoption of a more adequate model of research ethics in science and engineering, one to which the contributions of philosophers of science would be essential. Typical research ethics training is focuses on responsible conduct of research issues (ethical aspects of the process of conducting scientific research, such as: falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism; care for human and nonhuman subjects; responsible authorship issues; analysis and care for data; and conflicts of interests). While I do not deny the importance of RCR issues, they are far too limited to provide a basis for scientists and engineers to appreciate the full range of ethical issues they face. I offer an account of a more robust model, what I and my colleagues have labeled the Ethical Dimensions of Scientific Research (EDSR) and argue that EDSR not only offers a more adequate model of the ethical literacy needed by scientists and engineers, but that it also provides an opportunity for philosophers of science to contribute by designing ethics training responsive to epistemic concerns. In developing this analysis, I argue that the work of feminist epistemologists and philosophers of science who have examined the relationship between ethical and epistemic issues serves as a key element in developing this account.

On the basis of the analysis of this case study, I call for the development of an applied approach to the philosophy of science, similar to contemporary practices in bioethics, in which philosophers of science enhance both the practice of science as well as contribute to policy decisions within the NSF and other science and engineering institutions.

My second case study focuses on a new role for philosophy of science in both research design and in science policy. I argue for an essential role for philosophy of science in the identification of values and assumptions that are intrinsic to scientific research, that is, are embedded in the very context of hypothesis development, data gathering and analysis, governing equations, models, strategies for addressing uncertainty, and the like, and the full analysis of their epistemic and ethical import. This example is designed to illustrate the importance of working to ensure that all science, but particularly policy-relevant science, is as transparent as possible concerning embedded values and their intertwined epistemic and ethical import. I argue that philosophers of science need to understand, and perhaps at times even participate in, the policy context so that we can ensure that our work is framed in ways to be of benefit in this arena.

Using the case study of climate science, I examine two issues; 1) how climate models, and in particular integrated assessment models (IAMS), which deal with high levels of uncertainty about future climate impacts, imbed values and assumptions that are ethically salient and 2) how philosophy of science can play a leading role in enhancing research that foregrounds the importance of taking account of gender in the context of climate change science and policy.

Issue 1: IAMs have been rapidly developing over the past two decades as a way to inform policy and decision-making regarding climate change, but are also used within science to better understand complex system interactions, particularly between socioeconomic and biophysical processes. I illustrate the importance of the role of philosophers of science and other science studies theorists in: identifying key sources of overconfidence imbedded in such IAMS; providing insights on how best to quantify types of uncertainty; helping to critically reevaluate previous studies to help determine when omitting low probability, high impact events can lead to poor decision making; and the like. I argue that this type of transparency would not only lead to better policy-making, but would also be likely to point to reveal significant questions in need of scientific analyses.

Issue 2: Gender issues are only now gaining recognition in the realm of climate policy and science. In this section of the talk I argue that feminist philosophy of science can play an essential role in moving discussion of issues of gender and climate change forward both in the context of empirical design, and also in the policy realm. I argue that the work of feminist science studies theorists and epistemologists in identifying value judgments and tracing their impact in allegedly ‘objective’ scientific practices and, in particular, in economics, is highly relevant to the growing literature on gender and climate change. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the intertwining of ethical and epistemic concerns so central to feminist epistemology (e.g. Code, Harding), provides new resources for this literature that augments its social justice perspective

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Jun 28th, 1:30 PM Jun 28th, 2:30 PM

Leading with ethics, aiming for policy: New opportunities for philosophy of science

This is the Rotman Institute Keynote Address.

In this presentation I will argue that philosophers of science are missing important opportunities to contribute to essential dialogues and make a positive impact on our various communities. From our own institutions to national and international policy, the insights of philosophy of science can make important contributions to many important and essential realms, from pedagogy to international policy.

I focus on two case studies—research ethics training for scientists and climate change science and policy—and illustrate on the one hand, the value of enlarging the scope of our work and developing a more robust appreciation of the usefulness of the methods of philosophy of science for contributing to answers to important questions such as these and, on the other hand, how working in these areas would not only expand the scope but positively enrich the methods and practices of philosophers of science.

While these topics, and the typical approach to training scientists the proper “procedures,” are certainly important, this vision of research ethics is far too limited a venue to convey an appreciation of the full extent of the ethical dimensions of scientific research.

As I develop the first case study, I argue for the adoption of a more adequate model of research ethics in science and engineering, one to which the contributions of philosophers of science would be essential. Typical research ethics training is focuses on responsible conduct of research issues (ethical aspects of the process of conducting scientific research, such as: falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism; care for human and nonhuman subjects; responsible authorship issues; analysis and care for data; and conflicts of interests). While I do not deny the importance of RCR issues, they are far too limited to provide a basis for scientists and engineers to appreciate the full range of ethical issues they face. I offer an account of a more robust model, what I and my colleagues have labeled the Ethical Dimensions of Scientific Research (EDSR) and argue that EDSR not only offers a more adequate model of the ethical literacy needed by scientists and engineers, but that it also provides an opportunity for philosophers of science to contribute by designing ethics training responsive to epistemic concerns. In developing this analysis, I argue that the work of feminist epistemologists and philosophers of science who have examined the relationship between ethical and epistemic issues serves as a key element in developing this account.

On the basis of the analysis of this case study, I call for the development of an applied approach to the philosophy of science, similar to contemporary practices in bioethics, in which philosophers of science enhance both the practice of science as well as contribute to policy decisions within the NSF and other science and engineering institutions.

My second case study focuses on a new role for philosophy of science in both research design and in science policy. I argue for an essential role for philosophy of science in the identification of values and assumptions that are intrinsic to scientific research, that is, are embedded in the very context of hypothesis development, data gathering and analysis, governing equations, models, strategies for addressing uncertainty, and the like, and the full analysis of their epistemic and ethical import. This example is designed to illustrate the importance of working to ensure that all science, but particularly policy-relevant science, is as transparent as possible concerning embedded values and their intertwined epistemic and ethical import. I argue that philosophers of science need to understand, and perhaps at times even participate in, the policy context so that we can ensure that our work is framed in ways to be of benefit in this arena.

Using the case study of climate science, I examine two issues; 1) how climate models, and in particular integrated assessment models (IAMS), which deal with high levels of uncertainty about future climate impacts, imbed values and assumptions that are ethically salient and 2) how philosophy of science can play a leading role in enhancing research that foregrounds the importance of taking account of gender in the context of climate change science and policy.

Issue 1: IAMs have been rapidly developing over the past two decades as a way to inform policy and decision-making regarding climate change, but are also used within science to better understand complex system interactions, particularly between socioeconomic and biophysical processes. I illustrate the importance of the role of philosophers of science and other science studies theorists in: identifying key sources of overconfidence imbedded in such IAMS; providing insights on how best to quantify types of uncertainty; helping to critically reevaluate previous studies to help determine when omitting low probability, high impact events can lead to poor decision making; and the like. I argue that this type of transparency would not only lead to better policy-making, but would also be likely to point to reveal significant questions in need of scientific analyses.

Issue 2: Gender issues are only now gaining recognition in the realm of climate policy and science. In this section of the talk I argue that feminist philosophy of science can play an essential role in moving discussion of issues of gender and climate change forward both in the context of empirical design, and also in the policy realm. I argue that the work of feminist science studies theorists and epistemologists in identifying value judgments and tracing their impact in allegedly ‘objective’ scientific practices and, in particular, in economics, is highly relevant to the growing literature on gender and climate change. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the intertwining of ethical and epistemic concerns so central to feminist epistemology (e.g. Code, Harding), provides new resources for this literature that augments its social justice perspective