Values in Science

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Social Structures ◽  
Values In Science ◽  
Epistemic Values ◽  
Inductive Risk ◽  
Scientific Responsibility ◽  
The Many ◽  
Value Free Ideal ◽  
The Ideal

After describing the origins and nature of the value-free ideal for science, this chapter details three challenges to the ideal: the descriptive challenge (arising from feminist critiques of science, which led to deeper examinations of social structures in science), the boundary challenge (which questioned whether epistemic values can be distinguished from nonepistemic values), and the normative challenge (which questioned the ideal qua ideal on the basis of inductive risk and scientific responsibility). The chapter then discusses alternative ideals for values in science, including recent arguments regarding epistemic values, arguments distinguishing direct from indirect roles for values, and arguments calling for more attention to getting the values right. Finally, the chapter turns to the many ways in which values influence science and the importance of getting a richer understanding of the place of science within society in order to address the questions about the place of values in science.

Measuring Inequality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Andreasen ◽  
Heather Doty
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Significance Test ◽  
Values In Science ◽  
Disparate Impact ◽  
Epistemic Values ◽  
Inductive Risk ◽  
The Third ◽  
Risk Choice

The focus of this chapter is on the argument from inductive risk in the context of social science research on disparate impact in employment outcomes. It identifies three types of situations in the testing of scientific theories, not sufficiently emphasized in the inductive risk literature, that raise considerations of inductive risk: choice of significance test, choice of how to measure disparate impact, and the operationalization of scientific variables. It argues that non-epistemic values have a legitimate role in two of these situations but not in the third. It uses this observation to build on the discussion of when and under what conditions considerations of inductive risk help to justify a role for non-epistemic values in science.

scholarly journals Genética humana y el valor de los valores no-epistémicos en la restitución de identidad en Argentina

2021 ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Livio Mattarollo
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Paper ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Values In Science ◽  
Epistemic Values ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Probability Index ◽  
The Ideal

Within the context of the discussion about value-free science ideal, Heather Douglas claims that in several cases non-epistemic values are needed for good reasoning in science. In this article I aim at recovering her viewpoint in order to examine the research driving to the Genetic Grandparent Inclusion-Probability Index, a crucial element to restitute the identity of children who were abducted during Argentinean dictatorship (1976-1983). Thus, my purposes are (i) to reconstruct Douglas´ main theoretical contributions, specifically her reasons to reject the ideal as well as the distinction between direct and indirect roles for values in science; and (ii) to analyze the scientific paper resulting from the “Grandparent-Inclusion Index” research. The main hypothesis is (iii) that several decisions of this research, particularly the establishment of what is to be considered sufficient evidence, should be explained by reference to social, ethical and political values. Both because of the non-epistemic consequences of the inquiry related to its inductive risk and because such inquiry is a case in which there is legitimate and necessary integration between epistemic and non-epistemic values and that it is also a case in which Douglas’ criteria of objectivity is reached. By virtue of these reasons, the significance of Douglas’ contribution to the analysis of the relationship between science and politics is emphasized.

The ‘ideal perpetrator’: The French National Railways and the social construction of accountability

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Federman
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
World War ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Ideal

Mass atrocity requires the participation of numerous individuals and groups, yet only a few find themselves held accountable. How are these few selected? This article offers a framework that is useful for understanding how the condemned often embody attributes that keep them in the spotlight. Because norms used to identify perpetrators can set the context for future violence, long-term security requires interrupting both the actions of perpetrators and the discourses about them. A form of praxis, this study of the contemporary conflict over the French National Railways’ (SNCF) amends-making for its World War II transport of deportees towards death camps considers how certain perpetrators come to stand for the many. The SNCF remains in the spotlight not because of greater culpability or an unwillingness to make amends but because it embodies attributes of an ‘ideal’ perpetrator: it is (1) strong, (2) abstractable, (3) representative of the nature of the crime, and (4) has a champion-opponent who focuses attention on the perpetrator. Understanding the labeling process makes visible who and what we ignore at our own peril.

scholarly journals Social values influence the adequacy conditions of scientific theories: beyond inductive risk

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Brigandt
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Scientific Explanation ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Epistemic Values ◽  
Inductive Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
Philosophical Framework ◽  
Theory Acceptance ◽  
The Impact

The ‘death of evidence’ issue in Canada raises the spectre of politicized science, and thus the question of what role social values may have in science and how this meshes with objectivity and evidence. I first criticize philosophical accounts that have to separate different steps of research to restrict the influence of social and other non-epistemic values. A prominent account that social values may play a role even in the context of theory acceptance is the argument from inductive risk. It maintains that the more severe the social consequences of erroneously accepting a theory would be, the more evidence is needed before the theory may be accepted. However, an implication of this position is that increasing evidence makes the impact of social values converge to zero; and I argue for a stronger role for social values. On this position, social values (together with epistemic values and other empirical considerations) may determine a theory's conditions of adequacy, which among other things can include considerations about what makes a scientific account unbiased and complete. I illustrate this based on recent theories of human evolution and the social behaviour of non-human primates, where some of the social values implicated are feminist values. While many philosophical accounts (both arguments from inductive risk and from underdetermination) conceptualize the relevance of social values in terms of making inferences from evidence, I argue for the need for a broader philosophical framework, which is also motivated by issues pertaining to scientific explanation.

scholarly journals The few and the many: A motif of Augustine’s controversy with the Manichaeans

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Moral Conduct ◽  
Concept Of Truth ◽  
The Many ◽  
Major Argument ◽  
Community Meeting ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
The Catholic Church

It is one fundamental conviction of ancient philosophy that, in contrast to the vast majority, only few are able to gain knowledge of truth. This axiom, which also underlies Cicero’s Hortensius, is adapted by the young Augustine. When looking for a concept of truth that combines the ideal of a philosophical existence with Christianity, he decides to join the Manichaeans. As opposed to the ‘mainline church’ of the catholica in which ‘the many’ are gathered, the Manichaeans appear to him as a small, elitist Christian community meeting higher intellectual as well as ethical demands. This claim seems to be particularly and impressively confirmed by the ‘pauci electi’. Their approach has apparently strengthened Augustine’s belief that true, higher Christianity is to be found amongst the Manichaeans. When he later devotes himself to the catholica and leads the fight against the Manichaeans, Augustine adheres to the conviction of the ‘few wise’. Also within the catholica only few attain maximum insight and lead an appropriate life. At the same time, however, Augustine increasingly considers ‘the many’ as positive. These two aspects are combined in his epistemological concept of ‘auctoritas’: by means of their auctoritas, the few ‘wise’ within the Catholic Church are supposed to guide the many towards truth on their journey of faith and cause them to improve their moral conduct. Its big success is a major argument for the catholica, whilst the ‘paucitas’ of the Manichaeans (and all heretics) can be considered evidence of the groundlessness and absurdity of their doctrine.

Dinosaurs in Australia

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P Kear ◽  
Robert J Hamilton-Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Primary Reference ◽  
The Many ◽  
Detailed Picture ◽  
The Ideal

Over the last few decades our understanding of what Australia was like during the Mesozoic Era has changed radically. A rush of new fossil discoveries, together with cutting-edge analytical techniques, has created a much more detailed picture of ancient life and environments from the great southern continent. Giant dinosaurs, bizarre sea monsters and some of the earliest ancestors of Australia’s unique modern animals and plants all occur in rocks of Mesozoic age. Ancient geographical positioning of Australia close to the southern polar circle and mounting geological evidence for near freezing temperatures also make it one of the most unusual and globally significant sources of fossils from the age of dinosaurs. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of current research on Australian Mesozoic faunas and floras, with a balanced coverage of the many technical papers, conference abstracts and unpublished material housed in current collections. It is a primary reference for researchers in the fields of palaeontology, geology and biology, senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, secondary level teachers, as well as fossil collectors and anyone interested in natural history. Dinosaurs in Australia is fully illustrated in colour with original artworks and 12 reconstructions of key animals. It has a foreword by Tim Flannery and is the ideal book for anybody seeking to know more about Australia’s amazing age of dinosaurs.

The Geography of Epistemic Risk

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin B. Biddle ◽  
Rebecca Kukla
Keyword(s):  
False Positive ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Statistical Evidence ◽  
Values In Science ◽  
Inductive Risk ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Epistemic Risk ◽  
Level Of Knowledge

At each stage of inquiry, actions, choices, and judgments carry with them a chance that they will lead to mistakes and false conclusions. One of the most vigorously discussed kinds of epistemic risk is inductive risk—that is, the risk of inferring a false positive or a false negative from statistical evidence. This chapter develops a more fine-grained typology of epistemic risks and argues that many of the epistemic risks that have been classified as inductive risks are actually better seen as examples of a more expansive category, which this paper dubs “phronetic risk.” This more fine-grained typology helps to show that values in science often operate not exclusively at the level of individual psychologies but also at the level of knowledge-generating social institutions.

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