Values and uncertainties in climate prediction, revisited

Parker, Wendy

Abstract

Philosophers continue to debate both the actual and the ideal roles of values in science. Recently, Eric Winsberg has offered a novel, model-based challenge to those who argue that the internal workings of science can and should be kept free from the influence of social values. He contends that model-based assignments of probability to hypotheses about future climate change are unavoidably influenced by social values. I raise two objections to Winsberg’s argument, neither of which can wholly undermine its conclusion but each of which suggests that his argument exaggerates the influence of social values on estimates of uncertainty in climate prediction. I then show how a more traditional challenge to the value-free ideal seems tailor-made for the climate context.

Citation

Parker, W. (2014). Values and uncertainties in climate prediction, revisited. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 46, 24-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2013.11.003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 18, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 29, 2016
• Journal: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A
• Print ISSN: 1355-2198
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 46
• Pages: 24-30
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2013.11.003
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1450331