Category Archives: Ethics

Ins and outs of the ivory tower

Posted on September 3, 2015 by | 440 comments

by Judith Curry

This is the strongest, and most cogently made, argument that I’ve seen against political advocacy by academics related to their subject of expertise.

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440 Comments

Posted in Ethics

JC’s conscience

Posted on August 25, 2015 by | 326 comments

Quotations that serve as a conscience of a profession. – Tom Nelson

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326 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Industry funding: witch hunts

Posted on August 18, 2015 by | 525 comments

by Judith Curry

There is a remarkable and disturbing story playing out in the biotechnology academic community over industry  funding related to genetically modified food.

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525 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

Industry funding and bias

Posted on August 16, 2015 by | 212 comments

by Judith Curry

When should research come with a ‘warning’ label?

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212 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Mark Steyn’s new book on Michael Mann

Posted on August 13, 2015 by | 735 comments

by Judith Curry

A Disgrace to the Profession: The World’s Scientists – in their own words – on Michael E Mann, his Hockey Stick and their Damage to Science – Volume One

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735 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

The adversarial method versus Feynman integrity

Posted on August 12, 2015 by | 168 comments

by Judith Curry

If you think about the costs I’ll pay for raising these concerns, including the cost of damaged relationships with people that I like, I think you will conclude that a personal commitment to science is the only thing that could be big enough to offset these costs. – Paul Romer

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168 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Scientific method

The beyond-two-degree inferno

Posted on July 5, 2015 by | 627 comments

by Judith Curry

The time for debate has ended. – Marcia McNutt, editor of Science

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627 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Science: in the doghouse(?)

Posted on May 27, 2015 by | 459 comments

by Judith Curry

One of the most sensitive issues in science today: the idea that something has gone fundamentally wrong with one of our greatest human creations. – Richard Horton

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459 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Scientific integrity versus ideologically-fueled research

Posted on May 25, 2015 by | 246 comments

by Judith Curry

The main intellectual fault in all these cases is failing to be responsive to genuine empirical concerns, because doing so would make one’s political point weaker or undermine a cherished ideological perspective. – Heather Douglas

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246 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

What can we do about climate change?

Posted on May 19, 2015 by | 431 comments

by Judith Curry

Do we have the resources (from, say, economics or ethics) to answer these sorts of questions?

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431 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Policy

Ethics of climate expertise

Posted on April 30, 2015 by | 466 comments

by Judith Curry

If deference to the authoritative opinions of experts is essential to our rationality and knowledge, and if that deference unavoidably rests on trust, not only in the competence, but also in the epistemic and ethical characters of our experts–then it is high time that we get to work on the ethics of expertise. Indeed, it is past time. – John Hardwig

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466 Comments

Posted in Consensus, Ethics

Pope Francis, climate change, and morality

Posted on April 29, 2015 by | 202 comments

by Judith Curry

The Pontifical Academy of Science meeting on climate change is raising some interesting issues for Catholics and for humanity.

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202 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Policy

Conflicts of interest in climate science

Posted on February 25, 2015 by | 745 comments

by Judith Curry

Once you tug on the thread of undisclosed financial interests in climate science, you’ll find it more a norm than exception. – Roger Pielke Jr (tweet)

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745 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Charlie: Challenging free speech

Posted on January 11, 2015 by | 1,258 comments

by Judith Curry

In response to the tragic shootings at the headquarters of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, there have been a number of provocative essays on freedom of speech.

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1,258 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

Ethics and climate change policy

Posted on December 17, 2014 by | 518 comments

by Judith Curry

Every aspect of climate change is shaped by ethical dispute: from scientific practice to lobbying and activism and eventually, at national and international levels, the setting and implementation of climate policy. – Peter Lee

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518 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Policy, Sociology of science

Ethics of communicating scientific uncertainty

Posted on October 21, 2014 by | 812 comments

by Judith Curry

Last month I attended a Workshop on The Ethics of Communicating Scientific Uncertainty:  Understanding How Scientists, Environmental Lawyers, and Journalists Treat Uncertainty.

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812 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

Steyn versus Mann: norms of behavior

Posted on October 1, 2014 by | 511 comments

by Judith Curry

Mark Steyn’s latest blog post, and the ensuing tweets, prompts some reflections on norms of behavior for scientists versus political commentators.

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511 Comments

Posted in Ethics

How to criticize with kindness

Posted on September 15, 2014 by | 631 comments

by Judith Curry

“Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?” – Daniel Dennett

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631 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Fraudulent(?) hockey stick

Posted on September 11, 2014 by | 1,306 comments

by Judith Curry

Some new angles in Mann vs Steyn et al.

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1,306 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Partisanship and silencing science

Posted on August 29, 2014 by | 461 comments

by Judith Curry

 The implications of dogmatic groupthink and intimidation for the pursuit of sound science — and sound policy — are chilling. – Christopher Snowden

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461 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Mann vs Steyn et al. discussion thread

Posted on August 14, 2014 by | 549 comments

by Judith Curry

Some interesting developments during the past week.

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549 Comments

Posted in Ethics

A precautionary tale: more sorry than safe(?)

Posted on August 10, 2014 by | 475 comments

by Judith Curry

The unfortunate reality is that efforts to regulate one risk can create other, often more dangerous risks. – Jonathan Adler

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475 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Policy

Towards a pragmatic ethics of climate change

Posted on July 24, 2014 by | 420 comments

by Judith Curry

The global climate change debate has gone badly wrong. Many mainstream environmentalists are arguing for the wrong actions and for the wrong reasons, and so long as they continue to do so they put all our futures in jeopardy. – Thomas Wells

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420 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Are climate scientists being forced to toe the line?

Posted on May 24, 2014 by | 901 comments

by Judith Curry

Climate researchers are now engaged in a debate about whether their science is being crippled by a compulsion to conform. They wonder if pressure to reach a consensus is too great. They ask if criticism is being suppressed. No less is at stake than the credibility of research evidence for climate change and the very question of whether climate research is still reliable. – Spiegel

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901 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Skeptics, Sociology of science

Climate scientists joining advocacy groups

Posted on May 20, 2014 by | 403 comments

by Judith Curry

Along with Richard Lindzen joining the Cato Institute, Bengtsson now gives us two examples of ‘skeptical’ scientists becoming associated with political advocacy groups, and zero examples of mainstream climate scientists joining political organizations. Who is it that’s politicizing science? – Dana Nuccitelli

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403 Comments

Posted in Ethics