Year of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
Philosophy
Other Degree Name/Area of Focus
Environmental Philosophy
Department or School/College
Department of Philosophy
Committee Chair
Dr. Soazig Le Bihan
Commitee Members
Dr. Albert Borgmann Dr. Christopher Preston Dr. Dane Scott
Keywords
Non-epistemic values, climate science, dissent
Publisher
University of Montana
Subject Categories
Environmental Policy | Philosophy of Science
Abstract
Dissent, criticism and controversy are integral to scientific practice, especially when we consider science as a communal enterprise. However, not every form of dissent is acceptable in science. The aim of this paper is to characterize what constitutes the kind of dissent that impedes the growth of knowledge, in other words epistemically detrimental dissent (EDD), and apply that analysis to climate science. I argue that the intrusion of non-epistemic considerations is inescapable in climate science and other policy-relevant sciences. As such there is the need to look beyond the presence of non-epistemic factors (such as non-epistemic risks and economic interests) when evaluating cases of dissent in policy-relevant science. I make the claim that the stable factors in the production of are the presence of skewed research and the effective dissemination of this ‘research’ to the public; the intrusion of non-epistemic values and consideration is only a contingent enabling factor.
Recommended Citation
Amadi, Iheanyi, "Epistemically Detrimental Dissent in Climate Science" (2017). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 10991.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/10991
© Copyright 2017 Iheanyi Amadi