science
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Why I Don’t Want to Get STEAMed
STEM education is all the rage: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the collection of disciplines regarded as the most desirable, the most likely to lead to financial success for individuals and economic growth for nations, the obsession of universities and policy makers alike. I don’t know who was the first to consider the possibility of… Continue reading
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Darwinian Humanism
In honor of Darwin Day 2015, I would like to revisit an odd paper I had published in Environmental Values in 2007, titled “Darwinian Humanism: A Proposal for Environmental Ethics“. I would here like to offer a few – I hope tantalizing – excerpts from my final typescript. In hindsight, it was an odd and… Continue reading
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Hydraulic Fracturing: Risk v. Acceptable Risk
I have said that the first day of our workshop on hydraulic fracturing, in November, brought out a long list of risks related to hydraulic fracturing and, indeed, the engineers and scientists who participated were quite adept at identifying such risks and possibilities for mitigation. Something else came out during those first sessions, though, which… Continue reading
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What’s Science Got to Do With It?
One of the last things I read online, yesterday evening, was a new column in The New York Times online, under the irresistible title, “Where Does Moral Courage Come From?” (The Times has been an unusually rich source for ethical inquiry and reflection, and not only because of the news reported in its pages.) The… Continue reading