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Epistemic trust and the ethics of science communication: against transparency, openness, sincerity and honesty
- Source :
- Social Epistemology. 32:75-87
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 2017.
-
Abstract
- It is commonly claimed that scientists should hold certain communicative virtues, such as sincerity, openness, honesty and transparency. This paper uses the case of climate science to argue against these claims. Rather, based on a novel account of the range of ways in which non-experts learn from experts (detailed in Section 1), there are reasons to deny that scientists are under any basic obligation to be sincere, honest, open or transparent. Furthermore, not only are these claims analytically confused, they are epistemologically and politically dangerous. Sections 2-4 argue for these claims. The conclusion proposes an alternative standard for ethical communication: that scientists should not engage in “wishful speaking”.
- Subjects :
- Social epistemology
media_common.quotation_subject
05 social sciences
5003 Philosophy
General Social Sciences
Sincerity
Environmental ethics
06 humanities and the arts
Climate science
5002 History and Philosophy Of Specific Fields
050905 science studies
0603 philosophy, ethics and religion
Transparency (behavior)
16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Philosophy
50 Philosophy and Religious Studies
Political science
Honesty
060302 philosophy
Openness to experience
Science communication
0509 other social sciences
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14645297 and 02691728
- Volume :
- 32
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Social Epistemology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2d6798c104bbeff677256d372f2807c8