Public Trust in Science

PHIL 535: Philosophy of Science Seminar

Scientists and public commentators have for many years decried the “erosion of trust in science” and the “crisis of expertise.” This seminar examines recent work on these issues, asking whether there is such a crisis, whether we should “trust” science, and if so, why and under what conditions, and what sort of relation between experts and the public is appropriate, particularly in a democratic society.

Required Readings

Schedule Draft

  1. 1/16 – Introduction
  2. 1/23 – Oreskes 1
  3. 1/30 – Oreskes 2
  4. 2/6 – Values and Trust in Science
  5. 2/13 – Feyerabend
  6. 2/20 – Collins
  7. 2/27 – Eyal 1
    • Paper Prospectus Due
  8. 3/5 – Eyal 2
  9. 3/12 – Spring Break
  10. 3/19 – de Melo-Martín & Kristen Intemann 1
  11. 3/26 – de Melo-Martín & Kristen Intemann 2
  12. 4/2 – Goldenberg 1
  13. 4/9 – Goldenberg 2
    • Paper Drafts Due
  14. 4/16 – Trust and Socio-Epistemic Infrastructure
  15. 4/23 – Pamuk 1
  16. 4/30 – Pamuk 2
  17. Finals Week – Paper Due

Assignments and Grading

  1. Participation
  2. Term Paper

Participation

Participating will consist of regular, high-quality contributions to class discussion, respectful responses to other students’ contributions, and collaboration in class activities. You should be ready at the start of class to start talking about some aspect of the text that interested you, your take on the text, if you like.

We’re a very small class, so participation is important. You’re expected to attend class every week unless you have a very good reason to miss. The class will also be rather informal. We will discuss the text until we run out of things to say about it, or the end of class, whichever comes first.

Term Paper

Your paper should take on some philosophical problem related to the main themes of the class and attempt to address it in constructive fashion. (I am also open to more historically-focused paper ideas.) It is my hope that your paper will both contribute to your own larger set of interests as part of your graduate program while constituting a serious engagement with the issues discussed in the course. The goal is to produce a paper of high quality that could then be revised for a publication, or as the basis of a preliminary portfolio, master’s thesis, dissertation chapter, etc.

Outside Research

This is a research paper, and you are required to include sources not assigned in the syllabus for the course; type and amount will very depending on the topic and aims of your paper.

Stage 1: Prospectus

  1. 200-300 words that (a) describe the question or problem your paper seeks to address, (b) clearly state the thesis you plan to argue for in the paper, (c) sketch the plan for your paper.
  2. List of 6-10 references to primary and secondary sources that you plan to include in the paper

Stage 2: Term Paper Draft

A 2100-3000 word draft of your term paper. The paper should present a complete and coherent argument, though it may not be as extensive or thorough as the final version.

Stage 3: Peer Review

You will review the draft of one of your peers and provide feedback as if you were reviewing it for publication or presentation.

Stage 4: Term Paper Final

3000-5000 words, substantially revised based on peer feedback from drafts and writing workshop.

Paper specifications

Your paper should do all of the following:

  • Must contain a clear, easily identifiable, declarative thesis.
    • Not “In this paper I will explore…”
    • Rather: “In this paper I will argue that…”
  • The points discussed should be specific and textually supported, engaged with both the primary texts and the secondary literature on the topic.
  • Deeper discussions are generally preferable to broad overviews.
  • You should consider and respond to alternative interpretations and objections to your argument.
  • Must consistently follow a major manual of style (MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.) for grammar, citations, and bibliography.
  • Paper must have a descriptive title.

Course and Instructor Policies

Class Meeting expectations

You are expected to have read the assignments before class, and it would be to your benefit to also read them again after class. You are expected to have the readings for each day’s class open to refer to during discussion. You are expected to listen respectfully to the professor and your fellow students, and participate in class discussions and activities.

Late Work, Make-Up, and Completion

It is important to stay on track with the class schedule, or else you will fall behind and not be able to complete the work to a satisfactory standard. However, life happens, and I am a reasonable person. Reasonable extensions will be given upon request, for any reason, as long as you ask before the deadline.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Don’t do it! If you incorporate any work that is not your own into any project that you do, and you do not cite the source properly, this counts as plagiarism. This includes someone doing the work for you, taking work done by another student, verbatim copying of published sources, paraphrasing published work without citation, paraphrasing in an inappropriate way even with citation, and text produced by a GPT-style/LLM algorithm (including automated paraphrasing and revision tools). Re-using work that you created for another course or for prior publication also counts as plagiarism in most contexts. Unless group work is explicitly permitted or required, it is expected that all of the work that you turn in is original and your own, and that any sources that you make use of are correctly cited.

GPT, LLMs, “AI”

Large Language Model algorithms (primarily GPT and its derivatives, including GrammarlyGO and Quillbot), though referred to as “artificial intelligence,” are far from intelligent; they are powerful bullshit engines designed to produce generally inoffensive mediocrity. Not only does using such text in place of your own work a form of plagiarism, the output is more or less guaranteed to get you a bad grade even if I believe it to be your own work. (Because the work it produces sucks.)

In any case, writing and thinking for yourself is the way to get the most out of this class; the person hurt most by relying on LLMs or engaging in plagiarism is you.