Premium
Pragmatism: A practical philosophy for environmental scientists
Author(s) -
Suter Glenn W,
Cormier Susan M
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.1382
Subject(s) - pragmatism , credibility , epistemology , philosophy of science , set (abstract data type) , engineering ethics , inference , scientific method , sociology , scientific thinking , management science , computer science , philosophy , engineering , programming language
Challenges to the credibility of the scientific community make it particularly important for environmental scientists to understand the bases for the authority of their science. We argue that pragmatism provides a defensible and effective scientific philosophy. It provides a transparent basis for justifying belief and a set of practices and concepts for inference. It makes the scientific community the author of scientific truth, which has implications for the opening of science in the age of social media and the communication of consensus positions on important issues. We describe how pragmatism acknowledges the social aspect of science without losing the scientific tradition of critical thinking. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2013; 9: 181–184. © 2012 SETAC