Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn’t settled science—or that evolution is “only a theory”—reflect a basic misunderstanding of how science works. Yet defenders of science often point to its successes without being able to explain exactly why scientific claims are superior. In his book The Scientific Attitude, Lee McIntyre argues that we can best understand what is distinctive about science not by focusing on its method or achievements, but on those instances of failure to live up to one of its most basic values—”the scientific attitude”—which is caring about evidence and being willing to change our theories on the basis of evidence. The most efficient way to combat science denial, pseudoscience, and scientific fraud is to understand them as violations of a group ideal that is embraced by the community of scientific practitioners.

We will have the opportunity to discuss with Lee during this online webinar session. Please register here to receive the link to the webinar.

About Lee McIntyre

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He has taught philosophy at Colgate University (where he won the Fraternity and Sorority Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching Philosophy), Boston University, Tufts Experimental College, Simmons College, and Harvard Extension School (where he received the Dean’s Letter of Commendation for Distinguished Teaching). Formerly Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, he has also served as a policy advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and as Associate Editor in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Find out more about Lee and his books at https://leemcintyrebooks.com/