scholarly journals Value-Free yet Policy-Relevant? The Normative Views of Climate Scientists and Their Bearing on Philosophy

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-118
Author(s):  
Torbjørn Gundersen

This article contributes to the philosophical debate on values in science by exploring how scientists themselves understand the proper role of moral, political, and social values in expert practice. I present findings from interviews with climate scientists who have participated as authors in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The climate scientists subscribe to the value-free ideal as a regulative ideal that applies both to the provision of knowledge to policymakers and how they engage with political issues in the public sphere. Yet their views on the moral responsibility of scientists and the aim of providing policy-relevant output challenge the value-free ideal. The article suggests ways in which their views can be relevant to the philosophical discussion.

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audra J. Wolfe

The American response to Lysenkoism took place at a crucial moment in the evolving relationship between science and the public. Like many professional scientific organizations in the early Cold War, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) resisted involvement in political issues. In contrast to similar societies in the physical sciences, however, the geneticists' silence cannot be explained solely by the fear of financial or political repercussions. Rather, the GSA's reluctance to engage in political discussion reflected an ongoing debate within the scientific community on the proper role for professional societies in political controversy. Those geneticists who did become embroiled in the controversy did so as individuals rather than as emissaries of the profession. Geneticists H. J. Muller, L. C. Dunn, and Theodosius Dobzhansky attempted to reach the public through a variety of outlets, including books, magazines, newspapers, and the radio, but their interventions were shaped by their individual personal and political commitments. The GSA, in contrast, attempted to combat the spread of Lysenkoism with the help of a public relations firm and a Golden Jubilee celebration of the rediscovery of Mendel's laws. The messy story of the American response to the Lysenko crisis demonstrates the limits of scientists' political involvement during the early Cold War.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-512
Author(s):  
Thomas Wabel

In public debates on moral or political issues between participants from different religious backgrounds, liberal and secular thinkers like John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas recommend to restrict oneself to free-standing reasons that are independent of their religious, social or cultural origin. Following German philosopher Matthias Jung, however, I argue that such reasons fall short of describing the relevance of the issue in question for the adherents of a specific religion or worldview. Referring to the debates in several European countries about the hijab, I am showing how a deeper understanding of reasons as embodied in social practices and as embodied in individual biographies can help to disentangle such debates and to facilitate a dialogue on these issues.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zornitsa Keremidchieva

Focusing on the historical controversies surrounding the development of the print records of the U.S. congressional debates, this essay explores how human, technological, and discursive agencies come together to constitute institutional argumentative practice. Examining the U.S. Congressional Record through the lens of Bruno Latour’s concept of dingpolitik reveals that as a technology of representation print records work less as mediators and more as agents of institutional contextualization. Print records do more than translate arguments from oral to written form or transfer arguments from the public sphere to the state. Rather, they assemble the disparate elements that constitute the terrains of governance, the character of political issues, and the norms of congressional deliberation. Hence, the material dynamics of congressional deliberation prompt not only a reconsideration of what and who is being represented by Congress, but also a methodological reorientation from normative to constitutive perspectives on institutional argumentation.


2020 ◽  

Since the unexpected death of Ulrich Beck, there has largely been an absence of studies and debate on the continuation of his sociological work. One reason for this might be the fact that Beck’s writings revolve strongly around public resonance and everyday political issues. His approach to sociology, which straddles the border between academia and the public sphere, therefore represents a challenge for an academic discipline which is increasingly trying to overcome its own flawed and entrenched academic unity by demanding a more public form of sociology, but which has only just begun to tackle the work of one of its most important representatives in the public domain. This special edition aims to reassess the dialogue between the sociologist Ulrich Beck and the contemporary academic field of sociology.


ULUMUNA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Chusnul Chotimah Bimbo

  This paper discusses the issues of radicalism that have reappeared in the public sphere nowadays. The discussion will focus on the interpretation of Jihad by Fazlur Rahman and Tariq Ramadan. They are among two modern reformers whose ideas heavily focus on the social, economic and political issues about Muslims in the West. This paper will discuss the thoughts of these two figures about jihad spread across their various writings. As a contemporary reformist Muslim leader, Rahman and Ramadan had made many interpretations of the Qur'an by adapting to the social context of society when the interpretation was made, namely Western society. Their Qur'anic interpretations and their thoughts-whether directly or indirectly-reflect on the circumstances and challenges that Muslims encounter in the West, Europe and the US, today. This paper contributes to the discussion of the meaning of jihad and various attempts at interpretation of the term. Besides, this paper will at least provide an overview of how the face of  Islam in the West in the modern era as it is today.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Kaniecka

The people against Oliver Frljić, or Poland after The CurseIn the spring of 2017, the play entitled The Curse, directed by Oliver Frljić premiered at one of Warsaw theatres. It was not the first attempt to perform in Poland on the part of the Croatian director, well known as a controversial artist whose plays discuss social and political issues. His previous appearances on Polish stages usually evoked an air of scandal. The content of The Curse, too, had its producers investigated by the state prosecutors soon after its premiere; and blasphemy and incitement to crime in the theatre were discussed in the public sphere. The Curse is a loose adaptation of Stanisław Wyspiański’s drama, originally written in 1899. It deals provocatively with questions about modern religiousness and non-religiousness, touching upon relations between the Polish Catholic Church and the state, and upon national identity in contemporary Poland.This paper is focused on reactions to Frljić’s play, especially on different ways of expressing public anger as the most frequent reaction; it shows how politicians, members of religious and nationalist groups and other protesters became part of the performance. It aims to explain the success of one of the most scandalous theatrical ventures in Poland, describes the peculiarity of the Polish context, the dynamics of reaction of opponents and students of Frljić’s activities, and shows the lasting consequences as well as the performative potential of the Croatian director’s presence in the Polish public sphere. A very important circumstance in researching The Curse is that – as emphasized both in the performance itself and in the public debate – Polish national values were criticized by an outsider, in other words, by the Other.The article pays particular attention to two contexts: one is engaged theatre’s potential to transcend its own boundaries and influence the social and political reality; the other is the author’s personal participation in Frljić’s performance. Naród przeciwko Frljiciowi albo Polska po KlątwieWiosną 2017 roku w jednym z warszawskich teatrów premierę miał spektakl Klątwa w reżyserii Olivera Frljicia. To nie był debiut reżysera w Polsce, jego poprzednim działaniom na polskich scenach towarzyszyła atmosfera skandalu. Frljić jest znany jako kontrowersyjny artysta, którego sztuka dotyka sprawa społecznych i politycznych. Wkrótce po premierze prokuratura wszczęła postępowanie przeciwko realizatorom spektaklu, w związku z jego treścią; namawianie do zbrodni i bluźnierstwo w teatrze zdominowały dyskusje w sferze publicznej. Klątwa to luźna adaptacja dramatu Wyspiańskiego, napisana w 1899 roku. Prowokuje pytaniami o współczesną religijność i niereligijność, dotyka relacji między Kościołem katolickim a państwem, porusza także kwestie związane z tożsamością narodową we współczesnej Polsce.Artykuł koncentruje się na reakcjach na spektakl Olivera Frljicia, zwłaszcza na temat różnych sposobów wyrażania publicznego gniewu; pokazuje, jak politycy, członkowie grup religijnych i ugrupowań nacjonalistycznych oraz inni protestujący, stali się częścią przedstawienia. Tekst ma na celu wyjaśnienie sukcesu jednego z najbardziej skandalicznych przedsięwzięć teatralnych w Polsce, opisuje specyfikę polskiego kontekstu, dynamikę reakcji przeciwników i badaczy działań Frljicia, ale pokazuje także trwałe konsekwencje oraz performatywny potencjał obecności chorwackiego reżysera w polskiej sferze publicznej. Istotnym dla badań czynnikiem jest eksponowany i w spektaklu, i w debacie publicznej fakt, że polskie wartości narodowe zostały skrytykowane przez Innego/Obcego.Rozważania zostały przedstawione w kontekście oczywistego dla teatru zaangażowanego potencjału do przekraczania własnych granic, ingerowania w sprawy społeczne i polityczne, ale także w kontekście osobistego udziału autorki artykułu w spektaklu Frljića.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Johns

This paper reviews the current literature regarding Muslim young people’s online social networking and participatory practices with the aim of examining whether these practices open up new spaces of civic engagement and political participation. The paper focuses on the experiences of young Muslims living in western societies, where, since September 11, the ability to assert claims as citizens in the public arena has diminished. The paper draws upon Isin & Nielsen’s (2008) “acts of citizenship” to define the online practices of many Muslim youth, for whom the internet provides a space where new performances of citizenship are enacted outside of formal citizenship rights and spaces of participation. These “acts" are evaluated in light of theories which articulate the changing nature of publics and the public sphere in a digital era. The paper will use this conceptual framework in conjunction with the literature review to explore whether virtual, online spaces offer young Muslims an opportunity to create a more inclusive discursive space to interact with co-citizens, engage with social and political issues and assert their citizen rights than is otherwise afforded by formal political structures; a need highlighted by policies which target minority Muslim young people for greater civic participation but which do not reflect the interests and values of Muslim young people.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogers M. Smith

The potential of political science to contribute to debates over public issues has long been hindered by tensions in the discipline's goals of achieving scientific rigor while also serving America's democracy. Those tensions have been exacerbated by recent trends in American higher education working to separate research and teaching activities and to rely more on external donors to finance both. Collectively these trends suggest that political science faces growing pressures to steer away from unpopular topics in both research and teaching, and to abandon the traditional teacher/scholar model of academic careers. It is advisable for the discipline both to seek more actively to promote engagement between different forms of political science scholarship in order to achieve cumulative knowledge that is pertinent to important political issues, and to preserve and strengthen its commitments to effective teaching about politics.


Author(s):  
David McPherson ◽  

Public philosophy is typically conceived as philosophical engagement with contemporary social and political issues in the public sphere. I argue that public philosophy should also aim to engage with existential issues that arise from the human condition. In other words, we should engage in “humane philosophy.” In the first section I fill out and show the attractions of this humane conception of philosophy by contrasting it with a rival scientistic conception. In the second section I demonstrate how the practice of humane philosophy is important for engaging with contemporary social and political issues and how it offers the best path for religious engagement with these issues. Contra John Rawls and other liberal political philosophers, I argue that public engagement with controversial issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, and genetic engineering requires engaging competing existential stances and I show how this can be done.


2003 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. SAGLIA

Felicia Hemans's tragedy The Vespers of Palermo (1823) dramatizes the Sicilians' struggle to free their island from the foreign domination of Charles of Anjou, culminating in their successful popular uprising of 1282. The play's narrative of events in medieval Sicily, however, also constitutes a commentary on the situation of post-Napoleonic Europe. In effect the play reßects on more general notions of liberty and tyranny, revolution, patriotism, political representation, and the roots of the national compact. More speciÞcally, it complicates issues such as the democratic process, patriotic allegiance, and an idea of community which is in many ways related to what JŸrgen Habermas would term the "public sphere." The tragedy is particularly relevant because its revision of these principles took place at a time when liberal ideas were starting to take shape in the Spanish and Italian constitutional revolts of 1820-21 and in British politics. In this essay I approach Hemans's verse-drama as yet another instance of a Romantic-period displaced representation of topical political issues; but I also propose this work as a critical reßection on its own ideological materials and on the obstacles besetting any practical realization of liberal principles. Moreover, in The Vespers of Palermo this ideological elaboration is rooted in speciÞc structural and formal strategies, the most conspicuous of which is an insistence on the semantic and metaphoric Þelds of voice and sound. Through its interweaving of ideological and formal features, Hemans's tragedy throws light on the difÞculties in separating an imperializing police state from a community based on tolerance and the respect and protection of individual freedom. Hemans thus teaches her public to read the liberal project as a developing and unÞnished process.


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