Category Archives: ethics

An STS perspective

Posted on November 30, 2018 by

I saw something a while ago that I been thinking about and thought I would write a short post in the hopes of clarifying my understanding (which is sorely lacking). The suggestion was that all those involved with climate change … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, ethics, Policy, Scientists, The philosophy of science | Tagged , , , | 126 Comments

The benefits of acting now, rather than later

Posted on November 4, 2018 by

This is a post that I’ve been thinking about for a while, but have been somewhat reluctant to actually write. This is partly because maybe I’m wrong, partly because it is clearly going to be a bit too simplistic, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon tax, Climate change, Environmental change, ethics, Policy, Science, Severe Events | Tagged , , , , | 171 Comments

Ceci n’est pas un Sokal

Posted on October 9, 2018 by

Yet another hit piece by Freedom Fighters against “ideologically-motivated scholarship, radical skepticism and cultural constructivism.” Yascha Mounk called it Sokal Squared. On closer inspection, there’s no Sokal there. Inspired by Michael Lukas I contend it’s more of a Veritas scam. The Sokal epithet refers to perhaps the … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, ethics, Philosophy for Bloggers, Politics, Research | Tagged , , | 82 Comments

The goal of science communication

Posted on September 29, 2018 by

Since I’ve discussed research informing rather than influencing I thought I would briefly highlight a blog post I found about facts, risks, and emotions. It’s by Alex Freeman, who is the Executive Director of the Winton Centre for Risk and … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Climate change, ethics, Scientists | Tagged , , , | 107 Comments

The CO2 World Cup

Posted on July 17, 2018 by

Glen Peters found a nifty way to plug in CO2 emissions per person during the World Cup: Who has the lowest CO₂ emissions per person? France – Croatia (#FRACRO)#FRA – #CRO#WorldCup #CO2WorldCup https://t.co/aqjMTmv8EK pic.twitter.com/2VkmPLo7dr — Glen Peters (@Peters_Glen) July 15, … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, GRRRROWTH, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 57 Comments

The adults in the room

Posted on May 22, 2018 by

I was having another discussion on Twitter with Jean Goodwin, who posted the following quote. It’s attributed to Mark Largent and may have been delivered at a AAAS meeting. I’m interested in what other people think of this. I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 178 Comments

Dark webs

Posted on May 15, 2018 by

I’ve been trying to think of what to say about this New York Times articles discussing an alliance of heretics, and I’ve been struggling. I think it’s important to have people who challenge the orthodoxy, and who express views that … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, Open Thread, Philosophy for Bloggers, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 593 Comments